Prairie grain firm Richardson Pioneer has added to its share of the eastern Saskatchewan crop input retail market with a deal for Crop First Agro.
Financial terms aren’t being disclosed for the deal between privately-held Richardson and Crop First Agro, an independent retailer at Grenfell, Sask., about 100 km south of Yorkton, except that the deal takes effect immediately.
The Crop First facility, which offers seed, crop protection products and agronomic advice, will get a new high-speed fertilizer blender to “further enhance services available to customers in the area,” Richardson said.
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Crop First Agro co-owner Dave Edgar said in a release Tuesday that the facility’s management and staff will join Richardson.
“We look forward to establishing a presence in Grenfell and working with local customers to provide them with leading seed, fertilizer and crop inputs technologies, supported by our CropWatch agronomy team and best-in-class service,” Tom Hamilton, Richardson’s vice-president for agribusiness operations, said in the same release.
Winnipeg-based Richardson is building as well as buying retail market share in Saskatchewan, with plans to have three new stores “fully operational” by the end of this year.
The company said in September it would build new outlets at Pasqua, just east of Moose Jaw, and at Elrose, about 110 km north of Swift Current, and replace its crop input facility at Wakaw, about 90 km northeast of Saskatoon.
Past that, Hamilton said Tuesday, Richardson “will continue to look for strategic areas where there are opportunities to expand our Richardson Pioneer network.” — AGCanada.com Network
