Canada-based wheat and barley marketer CWB has started construction of its first grain elevator west of Portage La Prairie in Bloom, Manitoba, as part of its efforts to position itself as an independent grain handler.
The elevator adds to the company's asset portfolio, including Mission Terminal in Thunder Bay, Les Élévateurs des Trois-Rivières in Quebec, as well as a minority interest in Prairie West Terminal.
It will feature advanced railcar loading times and 33,900 tonnes of storage, a 17,400 tonnes workhouse with cleaning facilities, and 16,500 tonnes of steel storage capacity, while a 130-car loop track will support car loading at up to 60,000 bushels per hour.
The facility is expected to receive grain for the 2015 harvest.
CWB president and CEO Ian White said that as one of the highest efficiency elevators in Western Canada, farmers will be able to pull in and out of the elevator yard in record time.
"The site is easily accessible from a number of highways, including the Trans-Canada and the Yellowhead, and it is located in an area with a clear need for more grain-handling capacity," White added.
White said that every tonne of grain delivered to Bloom will be tracked for the purposes of CWB's farmer ownership plan.
"We want farmers to have a stake in their value chain after privatization."
Farmers who supply grain to CWB will hold an equity interest in the company after privatization, which provides them with an opportunity to gain a controlling stake in a Canadian-focused grain firm.
