YORKTON, Sask. – LDM Foods is accepting canola seed now as it moves toward full operation in late November.
LDM is the first of two canola processors to be built within sight of each other at the west end of Yorkton. It is a joint project of Louis Dreyfus Canada and Mitsui Canada.
Richardson Oilseed Processing owns the other facility, which is still under construction.
Both plants were announced in the fall of 2006.
The 850,000-tonne capacity LDM plant expects to produce about 500,000 tonnes of meal and 350,000 tonnes of canola oil each year.
Procurement manager Dean Klippenstine said the plant would accept seed seven days a week until it is full. That should be around Oct. 25.
Producers must have a contract to deliver.
Crushing is expected to begin in late November, Klippenstine said.
“With any luck the plant will fire up as smoothly as seed receiving did,” he said.
Virtually all of the meal and oil produced will leave by rail. LDM leased 500 new rail cars and two locomotives for its 280-car rail yard.
Klippenstine said product from Yorkton will be shipped mostly to the United States.
