An Alberta feed grain company has gone out of business, leaving behind farmers who are owed money.A recorded message at Mitchell Grain Company Inc. said the company ceased operations as of June 2, 2010.“If you are calling about accounts payable, you will receive written information from a third party with instructions on what to do next,” stated the message.One Saskatchewan farmer who marketed some tough oats through Mitchell is out approximately $4,000.“That would have bought 1,000 gallons of fuel. That would have bought almost 10 tonnes of straight nitrogen. It affects me,” said the producer, who requested anonymity.Mitchell was a Spruce Grove, Alta., company that specialized in on farm pickup of feed grains, canola, heated and off grade grain. The firm, which claimed to have 25 years of experience in the grain industry, had agents in nine Alberta locations.The company was not licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission, which means there is no security to compensate farmers who delivered their grain to Mitchell.Remi Gosselin, spokesperson for the Canadian Grain Commission, said Mitchell used to be licensed but the licence expired on Feb. 1, 2009, and was not renewed when it was determined that Mitchell’s operations did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Canada Grain Act.“Because they don’t operate an elevator facility and because they only handle feed grain, there is no requirement for them to be licensed,” he said.Gosselin said the commission has received a number of calls from farmers about the firm.The Saskatchewan producer who is out $4,000 knew something was wrong when he received a letter from Mitchell dated May 3, 2010, talking about the challenges in the feed grain business.In the letter, general manager Gord Mitchell talked about the new competition his company was facing from distillers grains, the decreased demand from the shrinking cattle and hog industries and the recent exodus of some of Mitchell’s key sales staff.“We need to spend some time to regroup, reorganize and refocus,” said Mitchell in the letter.He assured growers any future revenue would be distributed to them as a percentage of money owed, with payments starting between May 7 and May 18.The Saskatchewan producer is annoyed the company kept accepting grain despite its looming financial troubles.“They could have told us, ‘No. Don’t give us your grain.’”Gosselin said producers are encouraged to consult the list of licensed grain companies maintained on its website before making any sales.They can also subscribe to an e-mail service or RSS feed that provides them with updates on which companies have been added or removed from the list.There are a number of companies that deal solely in feed grains that are operating without a licence, he said.
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