Alberta Wheat Pool and Manitoba Pool Elevators have bought All-Crop AgriServices, a farm supply business in LaGlace and Sexsmith near Grande Prairie, Alta.
The facility will become part of Agricore, said a company news release. That is the name of the proposed amalgamation of Manitoba and Alberta pools, which is expected to be approved Oct. 30.
Rob Henry will join Agricore and continue in his role as manager of the outlets.
Agricore plans to operate an extensive farm-supply retail network extending from northeastern Bri-tish Columbia to Manitoba.
Read Also
Going beyond “Resistant” on crop seed labels
Variety resistance is getting more specific on crop disease pathogens, but that information must be conveyed in a way that actually helps producers make rotation decisions.
Ridley makes foreign buys
Saskatoon newsroom
Ridley Canada Ltd. recently announced two acquisitions outside Canada.
The Winnipeg-based, publicly traded company is buying Cots-wold Pig Development Co. in Britain and Gringer Feed and Grain Inc. of Iowa City, Iowa.
Ridley already had the exclusive rights to sell the Cotswold pig in Canada and now will own the rights to the genetics worldwide.
In the U.K., Cotswold Pig Development Co. owns six nucleus units and contracts with another eight for a total of 4,500 nucleus sows, Ridley said in a news release.
The company also operates two artificial insemination centres. These nucleus units provide the genetic base for 8,000 sows in multiplication in the U.K. and the extensive nucleus and multiplication herds of the Cotswold franchisees throughout the world.
The deal will give Ridley greater control over the development of the breed’s genetics.
“Superior pork products for the consumer and production efficiencies for the swine producer are achieved when genetics and nutrition are linked. The combined research capabilities of the Cotswold Pig Development Co. and Ridley Canada’s feed operations will put the company on the leading edge of pork development in the future, ” said Ed Moloney, president and chief executive officer.
The company did not release the cost of the deal.
In the Gringer Feeds deal, Ridley will become a bigger player in the hog feed business in the Iowa City region.
Gringer Feeds makes and markets a host of feeds and concentrates for the retail and wholesale markets. Swine products make up about 80 percent of its volume.
Ridley intends to close the Gringer plant and centralize production at its own Iowa City facility.
Focus on rural business
Saskatoon newsroom
A series of seminars aimed at rural businesses interested in product marketing is planned for several Manitoba communities this month.
The seminars will cover the basics of creating and implementing a marketing plan.
The sessions, sponsored by the department of rural development and Manitoba Community Newspapers Association, will be held at the following locations: Flin Flon, Oct. 23; Russell, Oct. 26; Minnedosa, Oct. 27; Carman, Oct. 28; Beausejour, Oct. 29; and Gimli, Oct. 30.
Sessions run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and cost $50 plus GST. For more information call 800-779-7839.
Machinery sales drop
Saskatoon newsroom
Sales of new large tractors and combines have taken a nosedive, according to figures released by the Canadian Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute.
The institute said that in August, Canadian farmers bought only 20 four-wheel-drive tractors, down from 110 in the same month last year.
In the year to date, four-wheel-drive tractor sales are 801, down 54 percent from the same time last year.
Self-propelled combine sales in August were down by 40 percent to 335. On a yearly basis, to the end of August, combine sales were down 34 percent to 1,213 units.
Large two-wheel-drive tractor sales were down in August, compared to the same month last year, but on a year-to-date basis were up about nine percent over 1997.
Tractors under 100 horsepower saw better sales due mainly to non-agricultural uses, said the institute.
Its figures also show reduced year-to-date sales of self-propelled swathers (down 12 percent), round balers (down 14 percent) and mower conditioners (down nine percent.)
Equipment sales are down throughout North America and elsewhere in the world because of lower agricultural commodity prices and falling farm incomes.
Equipment maker Agco announced last week it was reducing tractor and combine production an additional eight percent from cuts already planned in order to reduce inventory.
Robert Ratliff, Agco’s chair and chief executive officer, said the decline in July sales was sharper than expected.
“Company retail sales in the third quarter in North America have declined approximately 10 percent from prior year sales. Currently we are forecasting 1999 industry sales to be 15-20 percent below 1998 levels in North America,” he said in a news release.
UGG to open facility
Saskatoon newsroom
United Grain Growers is scheduled to officially open its largest high throughput grain elevator in Carseland, Alta. on Oct. 15.
The Carseland facility has 36,000 tonnes of storage and the capacity to load 112 rail cars at a time, a company release said.
Its location, 26 kilometres east of Calgary on the CP Rail main line, gives UGG a rail cost advantage when shipping to Vancouver, compared to many other Alberta locations.
