Ground is being broken today for a new business in northern Iowa near the town of Osage. Valent BioSciences Corporation is building a large facility in Mitchell County that will produce what are called biorational products.

Biorationals are chemicals from natural or biological origins that are used in agriculture, public health and forestry. The factory has a $146-million price tag. Officials at the company headquarters in Libertyville, Illinois, says it will create 500 construction jobs and about 90 permanent jobs at the plant.

It should be ready to open in mid-2014.