Crop and livestock producers dealing with the agribusiness division of Quebec’s La Coop federee can expect to see a new name in the game early next year.
La Coop announced Sept. 25 it will change the name of the division — which today operates under the Elite and La Coop brand names — to Sollio Agriculture in winter 2019.
The agribusiness division includes La Coop’s grain marketing operations in Quebec, its crop retail supply businesses in Quebec and eastern Ontario, livestock feed processing and services to the poultry, pork, dairy and beef cattle and horse sectors and, since 2016, the Atlantic Farm Services business formerly operated by Co-op Atlantic.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Given the “regulatory, technological and generational changes” in agriculture, “it was becoming essential to give the agribusiness division of La Coop federee a strong identity that encompasses the realities of farmers and allows us to stand out in an increasingly competitive market,” Sebastien Leveille, the division’s executive vice-president, said in a release.
The Sollio brand “will be officially rolled out early in 2019 to support the organization’s corporate activities,” La Coop said.
A company representative said via email the new brand is an “evocative” name taking its meaning from “concepts that are dear to agricultural producers” including:
- the land — that is, the soil — which is “carried on from one generation to the next;”
- solicitude, “the feeling of sustained and loving attention that we have for our family, our community and our land,” and
- solidarity, “which characterizes our co-operative nature.”
La Coop said its rebranding decision “is the result of a process that has taken 18 months and allowed the organization to take the pulse of the Canadian agribusiness reality.”
Asked whether the Sollio banner will apply to the Atlantic Farm Services business, the co-op’s spokesperson said workshops are to be held “over the coming months” with representatives of La Coop’s networks outside Quebec to work out when and how the new brand “will start its journey in every region of Canada.”
La Coop’s other brands outside its agribusiness division include its fuel company Sonic Energy, its meat packing division Olymel, and its Unimat and Groupe BMR hardware and home renovation retail chains. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
