Agricore has bought the North American pulse crop operations of Continental Grain for an undisclosed price.
Continental startled the industry last fall when it announced it was getting out of the grain business and selling its elevators and trading offices to Cargill.
The pulse crop division was not included and Agricore saw it as an opportunity, said Blair Roth, manager of Agricore’s special crop and bean business units.
“It is a nice fit with the special crops assets that Agricore currently has and provides us with some real nice assets in Manitoba and just south of the border in Ray, North Dakota.”
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Roth said the company is particularly interested in the expanding bean production in the Red River Valley area of Manitoba and North Dakota.
Manitoba Pool Elevators, which joined with Alberta Wheat Pool to create Agricore, did not have pulse crop processing plants, he added.
The deal with Continental will give Agricore a plant at Carman, Man., that processes dry beans, split peas, lentils and buckwheat. The Ray, N.D., plant processes peas, lentils and mustard.
International presence
There are marketing offices at Carman, Minneapolis, Minn., and Lewiston, Idaho, that contract production in eight states and two provinces.
Continental had three affiliated facilities in Saskatchewan and North Dakota and Agricore wants to continue dealing with them, Roth said.
Gross sales from the combined operations are expected to exceed $100 million, of which about two thirds will be original Agricore business and one third new business from the acquisition, Roth said.
The former Continental properties employ about 30 people.
