The company that is building a new inland grain terminal at Northgate, Sask., near the United Sates border says it hopes to ship 450,000 bushels of Canadian grain out of the facility each week.
Patrick Bracken, chief executive officer with Ceres Global Ag Corp., said the company plans to move one unit train per week when the facility becomes operational late this year or early 2016.
“Northgate’s build out progressed on time and on budget during our first quarter,” Bracken told investors during an Aug. 5 conference call.
Read Also
Ag in Motion speaker highlights need for biosecurity on cattle operations
Ag in Motion highlights need for biosecurity on cattle farms. Government of Saskatchewan provides checklist on what you can do to make your cattle operation more biosecure.
“Northgate’s new elevator will have the capability of loading 120-car unit trains within 15 hours, with anticipated outbound shuttles commencing in November 2015.”
Ceres’ Northgate transportation hub has been receiving and shipping grain for the past six months using temporary handling facilities.
During its first fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, Ceres handled 600,000 bushels of grain at Northgate, down from 1.7 million bu. in the previous three-month period.
Seasonal road bans and slower grain deliveries related to spring seeding reduced the amount handled.
Bracken said the Northgate terminal will begin receiving grain in early October, before construction has been fully completed.
The terminal is expected to be fully operational by March 2016.
“We’ve laid the foundations and we’re looking forward to a healthy Q2, Q3 and Q4,” Bracken said.
“We are providing Canadian farmers more direct access to open markets south of the border.”
The Northgate facility is a centerpiece of Ceres’ plans to expand its North American grain marketing operations.
Grain loaded at Northgate is shipped to U.S. destinations on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail network.
In addition to building Northgate, Ceres also opened a grain merchandising office in southeastern Ontario in early 2015.
According to the company, the new office will “play a significant role in extending our trading and merchandising reach into Ontario and eastern Canadian markets.”
Bracken said Ceres is exploring a deal with a major American fertilizer distributor. That would allow it to backhaul fertilizer for use by farmers in southeastern Saskatchewan.
He declined to share additional details but said the company is “continuing to evaluate the logistics and profit potential of energy and ag service commodities at Northgate.”
Ceres announced plans to develop the Northgate facility in early 2013.
American grain company Scoular was initially named as a partner in the project, but Ceres later announced that it planned to proceed without Scoular’s in-volvement.
Scoular has since initiated legal action against Ceres with a court date pending in 2017.
Bracken told investors on Aug. 5 that there is nothing new to report regarding the Scoular case.
“Nothing new. It just continues to roll along (and) … we continue to be very confident in our position,” he said.
