It will be at least three months before prairie farmers know if they’ll receive all their money from a failed Alberta oats company.
A Canadian Grain Commission auditor visited the Alberta Oats facility north of Edmonton last week. It is in receivership and the auditor was to verify the amount of money owed to grain farmers.
“He goes through the books and does an audit to verify the level of liability and who may be owed money,” said Paul Graham, information officer with the Canadian Grain Commission.
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Alberta Oats had posted a $600,000 security bond with the grain commission to cover losses owed to farmers in the event of a receivership. Farmers are owed about $100,000.
Producers have 90 days from the time Alberta Oats went into receivership, Aug. 21, to make a claim to the grain commission.
Alberta Oats specialized in processing human consumption oat groats and selling oat groat products to international buyers. The company was hurt by drought and the inability of farmers to fulfil their oats contracts. It was forced to buy oats of lesser quality at a higher price on the spot market to meet its business commitments.
Don MacLean with the receiver Price Waterhouse said the plant is continuing to operate and he is helping the company to put together a plan to sell the oat plant as a viable business.
“We’re trying to develop a plan to keep it running,” said MacLean of Edmonton who has started to place ads in newspapers to sell the business, which fell on hard times last year.
“Historically the company has been profitable,” said MacLean.
There has already been a lot of interest from companies interested in buying the facility including Alberta Oats’ competitors, investment groups and others in the grain business.
The grain commission has also run advertisements in newspapers notifying farmers they must contact the grain commission if they have a claim. So far, four farmers have contacted the grain commission to make claims against Alberta Oats.
