Alberta county hopes straw will heat economy

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Published: April 22, 1999

An $88 million strawboard plant planned for the County of Thorhild could become the Alberta county’s biggest employer and manufacturer.

“We have a very big player at the table with deep pockets,” said Henry Zolkewski, president of the local straw co-operative and a county councilor.

“It looks promising. The spinoff is just something we can’t even measure right now,” he said of the Harvest Board International Inc. plant that wants to produce 150 million sq. feet of wheat and barley strawboard per year.

The company is still in the permit stage but hopes the 230,000 sq. foot plant will be operating by fall of 2000, said Emily Heath of Harvest Board International. The company also plans to build in North Dakota and Kansas and when all three sites are running the company will be the biggest of its kind worldwide, said Heath.

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Local suppliers

The Golden Stem straw co-op will supply all of the plant’s straw from within a 100-kilometre radius, said Zolkewski. Thorhild, with a population of about 600, is about 70 kilometres north of Edmonton.

The 120 farmers who belong to the co-op will bale their excess straw for a base fee of $32 per tonne that is guaranteed for 10 years, said Zolkewski, adding the co-op will supply transportation to the plant. The straw price is linked to profits from the strawboard and should increase over time, he added.

According to Zolk-ewski, the area has plenty of straw and the plant won’t use more than 20 percent of it.

“We won’t be robbing the straw from under the cows. They will still have bedding to sleep on.”

The co-op will look for more straw contracts from farmers next summer only if members can’t fill supply, said Zolkewski. Cattle producers were among the first to sign straw contracts and that’s probably because they’re familiar with handling and baling it and know how much they need for their own operations, he said.

Until now, area farmers received little value for their straw, according to Zolkewski. Many bales were given away while others sold for up to $10 per tonne.

By supplying straw to Harvest Board International, farmers will see more return for a commodity that didn’t have a real price tag before, he said.

“It’s not any great big gold mine for the farmer, but it’s an added value. We’re seeding the grain anyway and with no capital expense we can reap the benefits.”

Other areas are looking at strawboard projects, Zolkewski said, and the reason his county managed to secure a deal is because it openly pursued the project.

“Most sit back and wait for somebody to come to them. In our opinion you have to be a bit more aggressive than that. You’ve got to move around, go to meetings and take the bull by the horns to attract them to you.”

Three years ago the county started to budget money for economic development, said Zolkewski, who helped spearhead the strawboard project in 1996. In the past few years the county invested in areas like research and straw quality tests. One study was undertaken to prove that stripping the straw from the land isn’t harmful, said Zolkewski.

“We’re not suggesting anybody strip all their land anyway. It’s just a matter of management.”

Co-op incorporated

County representatives put out the word they wanted a strawboard plant. Several companies came forward while the county approached others. The straw co-op was legally incorporated in June 1997 and discussions with Harvest Board International began seriously about a year ago.

It helped that the county already had farmers willing to sign contracts and co-operation from surrounding municipalities, said Zolkewski, adding many of the larger ones will likely benefit in the equipment dealership and fuel industries.

When finished, the plant will employ about 100 people, said Zolk-ewski, adding construction will employ others and will likely take 12 to 14 months.

“It will be a very good boost here and for the surrounding areas.”

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