There has been further consolidation in the retail and distribution side of Western Canada’s crop input business.
Agrium’s Crop Production Services has bought retail outlets in Saskatchewan, while Univar Canada acquired a wholesale fertilizer distributor.
Crop Production Services ac-quired Wigmore Farms March 17, which includes three stores in Assiniboia, Avonlea and Ogema.
On Jan. 15, it bought Northstar Fertilizers with locations in Hudson Bay, Prairie River, Peesane, Arborfield and St. Brieux.
The company also has an agreement to buy Wendland Ag Service, which operates retail outlets in Blaine Lake, Cut Knife, Delmas, Domremy, Rosthern and Waldheim. That deal is subject to closing conditions.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
The deals, if finalized, will add 14 locations to the 275 the company had in Western Canada as of the end of last year. Crop Production Services was already the leading retailer of agricultural products and services to Western Canadian growers.
Some farmers are not pleased to see the big getting bigger.
“I think it’s increasingly problematic that we have companies mon-opolizing the market,” said Jan Slomp, president of the National Farmers Union.
“There is a need for the Competition Bureau to look at it because we farmers are in the squeeze on both ends, when we buy inputs as well as when we sell a product.”
Agrium spokesperson Richard Downey said the Competition Bureau is vetting the acquisitions.
There has also been activity on the distribution side of the crop input business with Univar buying Nexus Ag, a wholesale fertilizer distributor for western Canadian retailers.
Neil Douglas, vice-president of agriculture for Univar Canada, said the deal rounds out Univar’s product lineup.
“We now can provide our customers with everything,” he said.
Univar’s niche is supplying product to independent crop input retailers and smaller grain companies.
The company distributed crop protection products, seed and inoculants before buying Nexus.
The Nexus purchase allows Univar to provide a brokering service for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur fertilizers and sell a proprietary line of micro-nutrients.
“It gives us the ability to now service our customers with more than just crop protection products,” Douglas said.
“We can also provide them their nutrient needs.”
The purchase was motivated in part by the formation of United Suppliers Canada when Grow Community of Independents decided to partner with United Suppliers, a collection of 600 primarily U.S. agricultural retailers.
Univar had long wanted to add its own line of micronutrients, but the partnership between Grow and United Suppliers forced the company to explore playing a bigger role on the fertilizer side of the business.
“When United Suppliers did start offering their macro-fertilizer brokering service in Canada, it did make a lot more sense for us to look for a company like Nexus Ag in-stead of just looking for a micronutrient line,” said Douglas.
Independent retailers and smaller grain companies account for 42 percent of Western Canada’s crop input business. Univar provides them with 38 percent of their product.
“We have the number one market share in that space,” he said.
The company supplies 240 companies operating 320 retail outlets in Canada.
Last October, Univar acquired Future Transfer and BlueStar Distribution, which added logistics, warehousing, packaging and formulation services to the business.
The addition of Nexus means Univar now operates 16 facilities in four provinces with more than 110,000 sq. metres of agrichemical warehouse space, which is the most in Canada.
sean.pratt@producer.com
