REGINA – Ending weeks of speculation, ConAgra Grain Canada confirmed last week it is building three high-volume steel inland terminals in Saskatchewan.
Saying the announcement “could be one of the worst kept secrets in history,” Mayo Schmidt, president of the Canadian subsidiary of U.S.-based ConAgra Inc., said construction is already under way in Yorkton, in east-central Saskatchewan; Nokomis, about 125 kilometres north of Regina; and Corinne, 45 kilometres south of Regina.
The terminals are expected to cost $10 million each and should handle more than 10 million bushels of grain annually. They will have high-speed unloading, weighing and cleaning capabilities and be able to load 100 rail cars within eight hours.
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Each site will have one million bushels of condominium storage for sale to farmers. An agriculture supply centre at each location will offer seed, fertilizer and chemicals.
The terminals are expected to be open in time for the 1997 harvest.
Schmidt said the terminals represent the second phase of the diversified international food company’s investment in Canada.
ConAgra’s holdings include Canada Malting, Maple Leaf Mills and Westglen Milling. The company also recently announced the construction of the BioClean ethanol plant at Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
“These new terminals are not our first investment in the industry, nor will they be our last,” Schmidt said. “We will be a player in the Canadian market.”
Phase three could include value-added processing, Schmidt said.
“Currently only a small percentage of Canadian grain is processed in Canada. We want to change that,” said ConAgra Inc. president Fred Page.
Agriculture minister Ralph Goodale called the $30 million investment a “significant vote of confidence in the agricultural economy of Saskatchewan and Western Canada.”
Nokomis mayor Wayne Busch said the terminal will have a long-term effect on the vitality of his community.
“The traffic of farmers delivering 10 million bushels of grain into Nokomis is going to have a huge spinoff effect,” he said.
The construction of each facility will employ 55 workers. Once open, the terminals will each employ six full-time and several seasonal workers.
ConAgra employs more than 80,000 people in 32 countries. The Canadian subsidiary is headquartered in Winnipeg.
