Comtrax Shareholders Make Fateful Vote

Jan 31, 2020

It was a decision many weren’t necessarily expecting here in southeast Saskatchewan.

At a special meeting of shareholders of Comtrax Logistics Solutions Tuesday, it was unanimously passed to give the board of directors direction to wind up the company and return the investments in the company to shareholders, less the expenses which were incurred while exploring the project.

“We are very grateful to our investors that put their trust in us nearly four years ago to explore this opportunity,” said president Mark Bratrud in a written release.

It was stated in the release the challenging trade conditions, as well as the economic uncertainty, made it too risky to proceed with the project at this time.

The proposed commodity hub was announced in late 2016, with the holding of town-hall-style meetings for producers. It was proposed for the facility to have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes for grains, oilseed and pulses, with at least half of the capacity to be used as condo units for commercial grain traders, handlers or end-users.

The Facility was planned to have a 260+ rail car system, with a loop track. There would have also been the trans-loading capability to allow for crude oil, aggregate, fertilizer and other commodities to be processed.

In all, the total cost of the project, which was to be built along the CP Rail Soo Line near Weyburn, was estimated to be $50-75 million.

The work on the commodity hub had proceeded to the point where feasibility studies had been completed, along with the securement of an option agreement for roughly 800 acres of land along the CP Rail line. An environmental study had been completed, and engineering work was also well underway.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.