Almost 60 farmers, truck drivers and bankers are owed more than $350,000 after an Alberta grain company declared bankruptcy last month.
All Grain (Alberta) Ltd., declared bankruptcy Feb. 16.
Gary Broenner of Mundare, Alta., said he is owed $8,000 for two B-trains of grain he sold to Thomas Erling-Tyrell, owner of the company.
“I may be forced into bankruptcy because of this,” said Broenner, who is out the grain and the money.
To make things worse, Broenner took out a $5,500 Canadian Wheat Board cash advance through Agricore on the crop. The wheat contained 10 percent barley, which Agricore and local feedlots wouldn’t buy.
Read Also
Fall rye hits record high in Manitoba
Winter cereals 2025: More Manitoba fields grew fall rye in 2025 than ever before, but winter wheat slipped and, while spring stand survival was good, drought took its toll
Company advertising
Broenner answered an advertisement in The Western Producer by All Grain, which said it bought off-varieties and poor quality grain.
“He looked like he was on the go,” said Broenner who went to All Grain’s marketing office in Edmonton.
For two hours they chatted about the Erling-Tyrell family history in the grain business in Germany, his interest in Napoleon and his 25-year association with the Alberta grain industry.
“I thought I was dealing with someone who would be in business for another 200 years. I felt I was dealing with someone of history.”
But just to be sure, Broenner called the Better Business Bureau, which said it hadn’t had any complaints. He called the Canadian Grain Commission, which said Erling-Tyrell wasn’t licensed, but there were no complaints. Broenner took the contract to the local Alberta Agriculture crop specialist to see if it was legitimate.
“I did all that to make sure I was dealing with someone reputable,” said Broenner.
Originally, he had contracted to sell three B-Trains of grain, worth $14,000, to All Grain in December. After shipping the first two trucks, he waited for payment before shipping the third. No money arrived.
Broenner said most farmers probably would have helped Erling-Tyrell if he had worked with them.
“If he would have communicated I’m sure farmers would have waited for their money.”
Ron Wirsta, manager of the St. Paul Municipal Seed Cleaning Association Ltd., said five of his clients are owed $14,500 for four Super B truckloads of pea screenings.
Wirsta dealt with All Grain for 18 months before bills went unpaid. In the beginning, All Grain paid feed pea prices for the pea screenings, a big help to Wirsta’s clients. He was often paid $80 a tonne more for the pea screenings than he could get at local markets.
Tim Ludwig, bankruptcy trustee with BDO Dunwoody Ltd., of Edmonton, said there is a list of secured and unsecured creditors owed money by All Grain.
First to be paid
The Community Credit Union in Red Deer and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency are the two secured creditors that will be paid first on $358,000 of liabilities. So far there are 58 unsecured creditors, mostly farmers and truck drivers.
The only assets are a seed cleaning plant in Bentley, near Red Deer, some furniture from the Edmonton sales office and a small amount of grain.
Ludwig wouldn’t speculate what the seed cleaning plant is worth.
There was to be a meeting between the creditors and the bankruptcy trustee March 13 in Edmonton.
Paul Graham, information officer with the Canadian Grain Commission, said unfortunately there’s little it can do for the farmers. All Grain was not licensed with the commission and is not covered by any form of security.
Last November, the grain commission’s licensing unit wrote a letter to All Grain suggesting it become licensed. Erling-Tyrell replied he didn’t need a licence because he wasn’t selling grain using Canada Grain Act grain names, said Graham.
