REGINA – Meadowlark Feeds of Alberta has expanded eastward with the purchase of a Regina feed mill.
The company bought the former Southern Feeds plant, which closed last November after it went into bankruptcy.
Peter Van Hierden, president of Meadowlark Feeds, said his company will take possession of the plant April 1. The plant can produce about 30,000 tonnes annually and he said that will be expanded by 50 to 75 percent.
Six employees will work at the facility. Van Hierden said he will consider former employees of Southern Feeds for the positions.
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He predicts a booming feed mill industry in Saskatchewan now that the Crow Benefit subsidy for shipping grain to ports is gone. Grain is cheaper in Saskatchewan, he said, and it is also cheaper to move feed from Saskatchewan down to Meadowlark’s main markets in the United States.
“Saskatchewan is the place to be,” Van Hierden said. “It’s just a natural progression for us to be right in the hub of the industry.”
Meadowlark now buys a lot of its materials from Saskatchewan sources, ships it to Alberta where it is processed, and then ships the product back through to the Dakotas and Wyoming.
The primary focus will be the U.S. to begin with, he said, and then move to more local markets as the feeding industry changes.
“You’re going to see feedlots move east (to Saskatchewan) because grain is so much cheaper there,” he said. “A lot of farmers probably first saw the loss of the Crow as negative. I see positive spinoffs.”
He said more intensive livestock operations will be established, requiring more feed.
As more grain is being cleaned in Saskatchewan, the screenings and byproducts feed mills need are staying there, he said.
As well, the feed mill industry is not as competitive in Saskatchewan, with only one major competitor in Regina compared with 28 in Alberta, he said.
“We see this plant as a stepping stone into Saskatchewan for us,” he said.
Meadowlark operates two plants in Bassano and Vauxhall.
