A new hog slaughtering plant could be built in Saskatoon next year, with the province’s First Nations playing a leading role.
A coalition involving First Nations bands, Sask Pork and Big Sky Farms is working on a plan to build a hog plant in Saskatoon with an annual slaughter capacity of one million hogs.
The province has been without a plant since Maple Leaf Foods closed its facility in Saskatoon on June 1.
Jim Ramsay, a consultant working with the First Nations group, said he’s 90 percent certain the proposed new plant will be up and running some time in 2009, with construction getting underway next spring.
Read Also
Agri-business and farms front and centre for Alberta’s Open Farm Days
Open Farm Days continues to enjoy success in its 14th year running, as Alberta farms and agri-businesses were showcased to increase awareness on how food gets to the dinner plate.
“We’ve done the business plan and it makes sense,” he said last week after speaking to the annual Saskatchewan Pork Symposium.
“The timing is perfect and we have the land, labour and capital.”
Each of the three partners plus the provincial government put $125,000 toward the business plan.
The next step is to put together a team of experts to design the plant and come up with a detailed marketing plan, something Ramsay expects will take a couple of months and cost about $3 million.
Once that’s been done, the group will buy a parcel of land already selected on the northern edge of Saskatoon. The land would become an urban reserve.
The plant will have an initial capital requirement of about $100 million, which will be funneled through an investment group called Anishnabe Food Ltd. Partnership comprising 15 First Nations bands.
The coalition has done its due diligence, Ramsay said, so now the question is whether the groups that have expressed support will put in the money to provide the needed capital.
That includes not only the First Nations, but also the federal and provincial governments and hog producers.
“This project is essential for all of the producers here in Saskatchewan,” said Ramsay. “And it’s essential for the Saskatchewan agricultural economy.”
Neil Ketilson, general manager of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, said he’s optimistic the plant will be built, but wasn’t ready to assign a 90 percent probability.
“I wouldn’t put a number on it, but we’re very confident we can make this happen,” he said while cautioning lots of work has yet to be done.
One of the major hurdles ahead will be the cost of construction.
Another challenge is to develop a marketing plan that ensures the product can be sold at a profitable price.
Support and financial assistance from governments and producers will also be crucial.
Ketilson said the project has received letters from 86 producers representing the production of 600,000 hogs pledging to invest in the project and to supply hogs to the plant.
Ramsay acknowledged the hog industry faces many difficult challenges, but believes First Nations are ideally positioned to become involved and help turn things around.
They own three million acres of underused arable land, represent a source of stable and motivated labour and possess hundreds of millions of dollars looking for a place to go.
The involvement of First Nations could also provide a significant marketing advantage, particularly in overseas markets such as Europe and Japan that have favourable images of Native culture.
At this point the plan is to sell exclusively into the export market.
Chief Allan Paquachan of the Fishing Lake band, which has taken the lead role, said First Nations people are excited about the project.
“They’ve been looking for something like this for a long time,” he said.
