First facility will be constructed in Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Belle Plaine, Sask. will soon be home to what Genesis Grain & Fertilizer calls one of its SuperCenters.
Genesis Grain & Fertilizer, a farmer-owned agribusiness, is constructing a facility capable of storing 52,000 tonnes of fertilizer including urea, phosphate, micro-nutrients, sulphur and potash.
The company intends to turn the inventory over three times annually, sending more than 150,000 tonnes of fertilizer through the SuperCenter each year.
“Farmers have been deserving of this unique business structure for countless generations,” James Mann, president of Farmers of North America (FNA), said in a release. FNA and AgraCity Crop and Nutrition created Genesis Grain and Fertilizer.
“In a matter of 12 months once construction is complete, just over 600 farmers from over 200 Western Canada communities with the vision and confidence to join FNA and AgraCity on this journey, will be the first to directly share in the responsibility and rewards of owning part of a major fertilizer supply and distribution system. A piece of the supply chain they can call their own.”
Plans for the $24 million facility include the ability to load and unload railcars.
Farmers are already beginning to invest in the idea.
“Genesis is an excellent opportunity for our farm to invest in a fertilizer company and realize the profit from one of our biggest expenses on the farm,” Doug Heaman an investor from Virden, Man. said in the release.
Investing in the project is a way to solidify a future for his grandchildren and generations after that, Andre Berube from Falher, Alta., also said in the release.
Construction crews are expected to break ground on the project as soon as weather allows.