Farmer-Owned Genesis Going Ahead With $24 Million Fertilizer Distribution Centre

A farmer-owned business established with the dream of building a network of grain and fertilizer handling facilities in Western Canada has announced it’s going ahead with its first of seven proposed fertilizer distribution centres.

Genesis Grain & Fertilizer — the company formed and promoted by the same people behind Farmers of North America (FNA) and AgraCity — says it’s building a $24 million “SuperCentre” at Belle Plaine, Saskatchewan.

“We need to see some bricks and mortar, and we’re excited that we’ve taken this next very important step,” says Bob Friesen, vice-president of Farmers of North America in the interview below.

He explains construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2017, noting the Belle Plaine operation will be the largest direct-to-farm fertilizer distribution facility in Canada. The company says it will have storage capacity for 52,000 tonnes.

Stueve Construction is building the facility, which will handle urea, phosphate, micro-nutrients, sulphur and potash. It’s also designed to load and unload rail cars for servicing customers and farmer investors across the prairies.

The fertilizer distribution centre will be located on the same site as the proposed ProjectN nitrogen fertilizer plant at Belle Plaine. As Friesen notes, environmental work has been done on the fertilizer manufacturing facility, and there are “vigorous discussions with an interested strategic partner” underway, however construction has not yet started.

Bob Friesen updates us on plans for Genesis’ fertilizer and grain handling network, including construction of the initial distribution centre at Belle Plain, plans for the Project N nitrogen fertilizer plant, and whether Genesis’ goal of building a farmer-owned grain and fertilizer company is still realistic:

Related:

• FNA Says CWB Has Rejected Its Bid To Turn the Wheat Board Into a Farmer Grain Company
• Figuring Out FNA’s Proposal to Acquire CWB
• FNA Spearheading New Fertilizer Plant

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