Saskatchewan’s pulse processing industry is attempting to keep pace with the strong rise in provincial production.
Not long after the announcement of a $5.25 million processing facility in Estevan, Sask., a group of farmers from Swift Current, Sask., said they also plan to construct a multi-million dollar plant.
Global Pulse Processors Inc. is building a facility capable of grading, cleaning and sizing up to 90,000 tonnes of chickpeas, lentils and field peas when operating at full capacity.
The plant will feature a newly constructed rail spur within the CP Rail yard in Swift Current, which the owners believe will set the facility apart from other processors.
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“We can expect almost daily rail service here and that’s not going to happen everywhere else,” said Global president Steven Wiens.
“We’re not as concerned about having a large number of unit cars in a spot because we’ll be able to pick up all the loose stuff in the yard all the time.”
Being situated on CP Rail’s main line will give the company access to the new special crops handling facilities at the Port of Vancouver.
“The freight rate advantage that we hold here being right on the rail line in Swift Current is tremendous.”
The expected lower frieght rate has also caught the attention of Rhett Allison, a chickpea grower who farms near Gull Lake, 50 kilometres west of Swift Current.
“The big advantage, of course, of this plant would be that it’s on the main line,” said Allison. “The people that are building the facility can be more competitive because of that.”
Another feature of the facility will be its ability to process, size and bag kabuli chickpeas at the rate of 600 bushels per hour.
Most chickpea processors require a second pass to size the product. Global will be capable of sizing the seed as it is cleaned, which means faster processing and turnaround times for the companies marketing the product.
The Swift Current crop district is the main chickpea-growing region in the province and the third-largest lentil producer.
The seven area producers who own the company are mystified why none of the big players in the special crops industry beat them to the punch.
“This is what has surprised the industry … there’s not a major pulse processing facility in the area,” Wiens said. “The product is here.”
Three phases
Construction has already begun. Phase one will be the initial plant, office and storage facilities. Phase two is a twinning of the project. Phase three will add more storage.
Wiens expects the first phase will cost more than $2 million. Financing has been arranged through Farm Credit Corporation.
The plant is mid-sized to reduce capital costs and ensure quality. If construction goes as scheduled, the plant will be accepting product by May 31, 2001.
Wiens said the new plant will be a boon for area growers
“It’s never an easy feeling when you grow kabuli chickpeas and you have a strange truck driver picking up $30,000 loads, going 400 miles, and you don’t know what’s happening to them at the other end,” said Wiens.
“Farmers still like to pick up their cheques. They like to pick them up, they like to see what’s happened to the product, they like to see it graded and docked.”
Canadian farmers harvested 4.5 million tonnes of pulse crops this year, demolishing the previous production record. Most of the crops were grown in Saskatchewan.
Wiens said you can sell lentils today and be looking at a February or March delivery in some cases.
“These are supposed to be cash crops.”
He is convinced the plant will be running at capacity in its first year, employing 10 full-time workers.
