Sask. RMs work together on ethanol project

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: April 27, 2006

Doug Thul spent the winter sitting in front of a new grain-burning stove as some of his best crop ever went up in smoke.

With no delivery calls, and needing to move at least 200 loads of grain over the winter to make ends meet, the Drinkwater, Sask., farmer said he took a hard look at the future.

“It was depressing,” he said.

At the same time, it was a catalyst. Thul became part of an effort to bring ethanol to the south-central part of the province when three rural municipalities set up a committee to gauge the interest.

Read Also

Flax in flower in a field near Wolseley, Saskatchewan in July, 2024. | Greg Berg photo

Huge Black Sea flax crop to provide stiff competition

Russia and Kazakhstan harvested huge flax crops and will be providing stiff competition in China and the EU.

Last week, 43 of 51 RMs in Division 2 of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities announced their support in principle for two 100-million-litre ethanol plants.

Thul, who chairs the South Central Renewable Fuels Initiative, said the idea is for each RM to contribute up to $1 per acre for five years. If all municipalities participated at the full rate, the $55 million they raised would be used as equity capital for the two plants, he said.

The committee has asked all the RMs to take the idea to their ratepayers. It has set a deadline of June 15 for RMs to sign a charter agreement and provide deposits.

Thul said the proposal is structured so that all taxpayers will benefit by pooling their resources.

“Everybody is a player according to the size of their farm,” he explained.

The provincial and federal governments could participate, Thul said, as could grain and fuel companies and financial institutions.

Location of the two plants will be determined after the financing is in place. Division 2 includes the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw, and communities such as Assiniboia, Chaplin, Riverhurst, Strasbourg, Ogema and Coronach.

Utilities, rail service and roads would all be considered in choosing the location of the plants and feedlots to use the distillers grain byproduct.

The two facilities would use up to 20 million bushels of grain, which is about 40 percent of the cereal grain grown in Division 2. The byproduct could feed about 300,000 cattle.

Thul said farmers have to look beyond producing food. Despite producing his best crop in 2005, he couldn’t deliver it.

“When we do deliver, we’re losing money,” he said. “I’ve got equity on my farm of $2.5 million and I’m having trouble buying groceries.”

Lionel LaBelle, president of the Saskatchewan Ethanol Development Council, said a national mandate is a key element of a successful ethanol industry.

Regina-Qu’Appelle MP Andrew Scheer said the federal Conservative government isn’t interested in picking winners and losers, but wants producers to benefit from any development.

About the author

Karen Briere

Karen Briere

Karen Briere grew up in Canora, Sask. where her family had a grain and cattle operation. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Regina and has spent more than 30 years covering agriculture from the Western Producer’s Regina bureau.

explore

Stories from our other publications