MELITA, Man. – The announcement was made with little fanfare but it carried huge importance to farmers, particularly those in southwestern Manitoba.
During a tour of crop variety trials near Melita last week, two area farmers quietly outlined plans for an ethanol venture that potentially will consume 27 million bushels of peas and two-row barley per year.
The venture would not only create a large new market for those crops, but would also help demonstrate that farmers and rural businesspeople can be key players in the expansion of ethanol production in Manitoba.
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The plant is expected to be built with private investment by Clean Country Resources Ltd., a corporation established by local farmers and businesspeople. Once completed, the plant would produce 225 million litres of ethanol per year.
The proponents of the venture were not discouraged by the fact that Husky Energy is already building a $145 million ethanol plant at Minnedosa, Man., which is also in southwestern Manitoba. The Husky plant will produce 130 million litres per year and will use wheat and durum as its feedstocks.
“I think we will complement each other, rather than butt heads,” said Vern Vandaele, one of six people on the board of directors for Clean Country Resources. Vandaele is a businessperson and farmer at Medora, Man.
Clean Country Resources plans to start building the plant this fall, with completion expected 12 to 14 months later. The venture would be located at Hartney, Man, in the middle of where the company expects to draw its pea and barley. Once complete, the plant would provide 40 full-time jobs and numerous spinoff jobs, Vandaele said.
It took less than a year for proponents of the idea to shape it into a full-fledged plan.
“We kept expecting to run into some major obstacles, but we haven’t,” said Ron Rutherford, who farms near Melita and also is on the company’s board of directors.
Vandaele said they reviewed crop insurance data to ensure ample supplies of peas and barley are grown in the area. They plan to contract production with growers for 2007. There will also be an opportunity for producers to invest as shareholders, he said.
He would not share details of where ethanol from Clean Country Resources will be sold. The company is working on markets for the distillers grain, a byproduct resulting from ethanol production.
The plant at Hartney will be based on a review of the technology used in existing plants.
“We’ve pulled the best out of numerous technologies,” Vandaele said.
Meanwhile, construction of the Husky Energy plant at Minnedosa continues on schedule, said company spokesperson Dennis Floate. Completion is expected for the middle of 2007. The company has built a similar ethanol plant at Lloydminster, Sask.
“We’re very pleased with how things are coming together in both Minnedosa and at Lloydminster,” Floate said.
He agreed competition should be healthy for the industry as it strives to extend the supplies and uses of ethanol in Western Canada.
