ANEW agreement between Prairie Pasta and American durum processor
Dakota Growers Pasta Co. is a sign that persistence pays.
With steadfast resolve and innovative thinking, Prairie Pasta has dealt
with a host of complex issues and roadblocks, and is now close to
making a dream come true for many prairie farmers.
That dream is to add value to the high quality durum produced on their
farms, allowing producers to climb the value chain and claim profits
from grain processing.
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Since the early 1990s, various groups have investigated the possibility
of building a large durum mill and pasta plant on the southern prairies.
When it appeared big agribusiness wouldn’t make it happen, farmers
looked at doing it themselves.
But it was a big job. Would enough farmers commit to the project? Where
would the money come from for a plant with a $120 million price tag?
Could a deal be struck with the Canadian Wheat Board to ensure farmers
who invest in the project get direct benefits?
Only one group stuck to it over the years and along the way Prairie
Pasta, a new generation co-op, learned the art of the possible.
Its initial goal of getting an exemption from the wheat board’s
buy-back policy couldn’t be negotiated. However, it did push the board
to implement a policy on new generation co-ops that would make it
easier and cheaper for a Canadian pasta plant to collect durum from
across the Prairies.
Then, when a feasibility study said that industry overcapacity made it
too risky to build a plant in Canada, the group didn’t fold. It
considered buying market share rather than bricks and mortar.
The natural potential partner was Dakota Growers. It had a mill and
pasta plants, a good market share, proximity to large population
centres and a strong relationship with its owners – North Dakota durum
farmers.
Then Dakota Growers changed itself from a new generation co-op to a
corporation to make it easier for members to sell their shares if
interested.
Prairie Pasta again rolled with the punch and adjusted. It now appears
to have everything in place and is about to launch a membership drive.
Members would get dividends from profits generated by Dakota Growers
and should save on transportation and handling costs.
But the biggest benefit might be better trade relations between
Canadian and American farmers and an improved understanding of grain
marketing systems on both sides of the border.
North Dakota farmers have often been behind American challenges of
Canadian wheat and durum exports to the U.S. They’d be less likely to
see Canadian grain as the enemy if they were tied together with their
northern neighbours in a commercial venture that benefitted them both.
