Grain delivered before May 9 will be covered by the producer payment security program
The Canadian Grain Commission has taken away Naber Specialty Grain’s licence.
“A renewal of their licence was not granted because it could no longer meet some of our licensing requirements,” said commission spokesperson Remi Gosselin.
He would not divulge what requirements the Melfort, Sask., company failed to meet but said some of the requirements for a primary elevator include providing monthly liability reports, sufficient security, annual audited financial statements and issuing accurate cash purchase tickets.
Gosselin said the company is still operating and to his knowledge has not declared bankruptcy or gone into receivership.
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Todd Naber, owner of Naber Specialty Grain, was contacted for this story but did not respond to an interview request.
However, a company’s lack of a grain commission licence doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in financial difficulty or that it will not pay its debts. It means only that the debts owed to farmers are not protected by the grain commission.
Gosselin said producers who delivered eligible grain to Naber after May 9 will not be protected by the commission because that was the date the company lost its licence.
Those who delivered grain before that date will be covered by the commission’s producer payment security program subject to the rules of the program.
Growers have to make a claim within 90 days from the date of delivery.
Those who wait longer than 90 days to exchange their elevator or grain receipt for a cash purchase ticket or cheque are not covered.
Once growers receive a cash purchase ticket or cheque, they are covered for 30 days from that date or until 90 days from the date of delivery.
“Producers who are unable to get paid should contact the CGC and they will be required to submit claims to the CGC for payment,” said Gosselin.
“We will determine the extent of liabilities and we will distribute proceeds of security to eligible holders of documents.”
There is no guarantee producers will receive 100 percent of what they are owed.
“Settlements to producers will be made only after liabilities are determined,” said Gosselin.
“We will undertake an audit. This may take some time. If security is not adequate, proceeds will be distributed on a pro-rated basis.”
Naber has already been associated with one of the largest shortfalls in the commission’s history.
He was a principal in Naber Seed & Grain Co. Ltd., another Melfort firm that was placed into receivership in June 2002.
Naber Seed did not have a big enough bond in place with the commission to fully compensate growers.
Growers received 51 cents on the dollar for the grain they delivered, leaving 112 farmers with $960,000 in unpaid deliveries.
Naber Specialty Grains is primarily a canaryseed buyer. The commission will not cover farmers who delivered canaryseed to the company because it is not one of the 20 regulated crops.
It was the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan that first indicated there could be financial problems with the company.
The commission issued a news release March 30 warning growers to take extra care when marketing their crop to Naber because the firm was in arrears submitting levies it collected from growers to the commission.
Kevin Hursh, executive director of the commission, said Naber has since submitted the outstanding levy dollars.
