Cargill is spending $8.5 million on a new elevator and farm service centre in North Battleford, Sask.
The company said the facility will be built on the same site as Cargill’s first investment in western Canada, a rapeseed cleaning plant.
The elevator will have 12,000 tonnes of storage, a 52-car rail spot and a 2,000 bushel an hour grain drying system. The rail car spot has room to expand to 112 cars.
There will be a 6,000 sq. foot chemical storage shed, as well as fertilizer and seed storage and handling facilities.
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UGG buys farm supplier
Saskatoon newsroom
United Grain Growers is buying Border Agro Products Ltd., a Saskatchewan fertilizer and farm supply retailer.
Border Agro has an anhydrous ammonia storage and distribution centre at Maidstone, Sask., and a crop protection product outlet at Lloydminster.
The management and staff of Border Agro will continue with UGG.
When the sale is complete at the end of October, Border Agro will offer UGG’s full line of services including grain contracting and seed sales.
Sunflower plant expands
Brandon bureau
Keystone Grain showed its confidence in the sunflower industry last week by announcing a $1.6 million expansion of its plant at Winkler, Man.
The company is a major processor of sunflower seed in Canada. The expansion will include a new seed grading tower and more bin storage.
Keystone Grain processes 40 million pounds of confection sunflower seed each year. Annual production will increase to 60 million lb. once the expansion is finished later this year.
The project will help curb the amount of sunflower seed exported from Canada for processing, said Keystone Grain president Lloyd Thiessen. “In the Canadian industry, we think it will create more stability for the markets.”
Much of Canada’s sunflower seed is grown in southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan. A reliable market is vital for the crop’s expansion on the Prairies.
“If we can create a market in Canada for sunflowers, the growers are going to grow it. If there’s not a market for it, they’ll look at alternative crops where there is a market.”
The Keystone Grain expansion is supported by an $800,000 Manitoba Grow Bond. The company expects to add 10 new jobs to its existing staff of 25 people.
Cat dealer honored
Saskatoon newsroom
Caterpillar dealer Kramer Ltd. of Regina will be named to the Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame at an achievement awards ceremony Oct. 24.
The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce inducts into the hall companies that have shown “excellence over an extended period of time, contributing to the economic well-being of the people of the province,” it said in a news release.
Kramer was founded in 1944 by Robert Kramer. It serves the agricultural, resource and road building industries and employs about 260 people.
It has several sales and service facilities in Saskatchewan and services a Cameco mine in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union.
Concrete jobs added
Saskatoon newsroom
Con-Force Structures Ltd. recently expanded its Regina plant.
The precast concrete manufacturer added a $1 million dry cast operation that is now producing slat floors for the expanding hog industry.
Con-Force employs 35-100 people at its Regina plant, depending on work load. The new equipment will add five positions.
The company also has operations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
