Proposed Man. cattle plant changes name

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Published: December 5, 2011

A proposed cattle slaughter plant in Winnipeg has a new name.

What was Keystone Processors is now known as ProNatur.

Managers at the 250 head per day slaughter plant unveiled the new brand at the Manitoba Grazing School in Winnipeg Dec. 5.

Kate Butler, executive director of the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council, said the name change was necessary because a Pennsylvania company called Keystone Foods had expressed concerns about the Keystone Processors brand.

Regardless of the name, the company still intends to build a plant in Winnipeg that will slaughter 62,500 animals per year to serve the market for halal, kosher and Canadian graded cattle.

It plans to open the plant in 2013 but needs a $10 million investment to fill the gap created when the federal government pulled its funding commitment this summer.

“Right now we’re pounding the streets in a very tough global market for investment,” said ProNatur president Doug Cooper.

The company has an $18 million loan from the Royal Bank and is collecting producer checkoffs through the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council.

However, Manitoba Beef Producers passed a resolution this fall to end the $2 checkoff that funds the council because some cattle producers doubted the Winnipeg plant would ever open for business.

Cooper said some may feel that way, but continued participation in the voluntary checkoff would indicate that Manitoba beef producers do want the plant to go forward.

“While the Manitoba Beef Producers did pass a resolution to lobby to end the voluntary checkoff, I didn’t hear anyone say that they were against the packing plant.”

Cooper said ProNatur wants to build relationships with Manitoba cattle producers so that the plant will have an adequate supply when it opens.

About the author

Robert Arnason

Robert Arnason

Reporter

Robert Arnason is a reporter with The Western Producer and Glacier Farm Media. Since 2008, he has authored nearly 5,000 articles on anything and everything related to Canadian agriculture. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but Robert spent hundreds of days on his uncle’s cattle and grain farm in Manitoba. Robert started his journalism career in Winnipeg as a freelancer, then worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and Fernie, BC. Robert has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in LSJF – Long Suffering Jets’ Fan.

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