THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015
VOL. 93 | NO. 28 | $4.25
HANDLE WITH CARE | P57
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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GRAIN SHIPPING
Prairie ethanol sector hits tough times The industry says the closing of a plant in Weyburn, Sask., is a sign that all is not well in the biofuel sector BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
A Saskatchewan ethanol plant has shut down because of low fuel prices, high feedstock costs and the loss of government incentives. N o r A m e r a B i o E n e r g y C o r p. stopped producing ethanol at its Weyburn plant in May after nine years in business. Chief executive officer Brad Hill said the freefall in crude oil prices to less than $60 per barrel from more than $100 per barrel a year ago has decimated ethanol prices. “It has created a big trough in the revenue stream,” he said. The plant has been forced to lay off
20 of its 27 employees. The facility can produce 25 million litres of ethanol a year, making it the fourth largest plant in the province. It bought 60,000 tonnes of feed quality grain a year from local producers, most of it wheat. The facility was originally a privately held firm until Weyburn Inland Terminal bought it in 2008. Parrish & Heimbecker in turn bought the grain company last year. Hill said NorAmera managed to keep operating through difficult times in 2010, 2011 and 2012 when feedstock costs were sky high and local production was curtailed by flooding. SEE TOUGH TIMES, PAGE 4
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P.E.I. POTATO GROWERS UP ANTE IN SEARCH FOR SPUD SABOTEUR | PAGE 15 Mustard adds zing to summer cooking Mustard in all its forms — from whole seed to powdered to prepared — is a pantry staple that adds zip to your food. | Page 18
Open outcry trading ends CME Group shuts down most open outcry futures trading because of dwindling volumes and migrated trading to electronic screens. | Page 60
BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
The recently announced G3 export grain terminal project is not the only one under serious consideration at Port Metro Vancouver, according to a port official. Doug Mills, senior account representative in the port’s trade development department, said there have been conversations with more than a dozen companies. Some of those firms are in the advanced stages of mulling over their proposed projects. “There potentially are perhaps one or two that are in a position to make a decision in the not too distant future,” he said. That is in addition to G3 Global Grain Group, which announced in June it had formed a joint venture with Western Stevedoring Company to explore the feasibility of building a terminal capable of exporting six to eight million tonnes of grain per year. SEE PORT EXPANSIONS, PAGE 4
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv#:) JULY 9, 2015 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
BIOFUELS
More Vancouver port expansions in the works