Richardson was a minority shareholder of Calgary-based Matex (formally known as Control Chemical Corporation) since 1989 before fully acquiring the company in 2021. Matex produces drilling fluids and vegetable oil-based lubricants used in mining and resource extraction processes.

Richardson supplied Matex with canola oil from its processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta.

Matex also makes specialty polymers, foams, blast hole stabilizers, thread compounds and non-alcohol freeze control fluids.

In a statement, Richardson said the sale more closely aligns with its “farm-to-table value chain” and “sets up Matex for continued success and stability under new ownership.”

“We saw an opportunity to transition Matex to an ownership group that is well positioned to support the business into the future,” said Darrell Sobkow, executive vice-president, processing, food and ingredients at Richardson International.

“Matex has built a strong reputation in its market, and we’re confident it will be in great hands. We thank Matex employees for their dedication throughout this process, and we are committed to working closely with the new owners to support a smooth transition.”

– With files from Dave Bedard

The post Richardson International sells Matex Control Chemical brand appeared first on Farmtario.

The grain company rejoined the organization at its March 12 annual general meeting after nearly a nine-year hiatus.

“Richardson is a significant player in the industry in a number of different capacities, including as an exporter and processor, so it’s great to have them around the table as a member of the council,” said council president Chris Davison.

Richardson withdrew its funding from the canola council, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada at the end of 2017.

It had been spending more than $1 million per year funding the three organizations.

“We don’t think we got the value out of it,” Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

Davison said the council maintained a working relationship with Richardson over the ensuing years.

Recently he discussed the council’s updated priorities with the grain company.

“That led to a decision from them to rejoin the council as a regular member,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Richardson was the only major grain company that was not a member of the council.

He doesn’t know what tipped the scale.

“That’s a question you might have to ask them,” said Davison.

“I think it’s more than one thing.”

Richardson was contacted for this story but did not reply in time to meet The Western Producer’s publication deadline.

One of Richardson’s original concerns surrounded the council’s extensive work on agronomy when the private sector had its own agronomists working in the countryside.

The council seemingly addressed that concern when it announced a “refreshed” strategic framework on July 31, 2025.

In that announcement, the organization said it would no longer maintain a field-based agronomy team.

Davison said the council will instead focus on maintaining or enhancing the ability to innovate, promoting canola’s role in biofuel, ensuring market access for canola products and conducting targeted market development around the world.

Exporters and processors provided $1.33 million, or 36 per cent, of the council’s core funding in 2025.

That compares to $1.55 million contributed by provincial grower groups, $750,000 from life science companies and $21,000 from affiliate memberships.

Davison would not divulge how much Richardson would be paying in 2026.

“We don’t talk about the amounts that individual organizations contribute,” he said.

However, he noted that it will be helpful to have the grain company back in the fold when it comes to tackling priorities and co-ordinating and aligning activities.

“The more of the industry that we have represented at the table the better that is,” said Davison.

Aaron Anderson of Richardson is one of three new directors for 2026-27. He will be a director-at-large nominated by the council’s board.

The post Richardson back in the fold at canola council appeared first on Farmtario.

Aaron Anderson of Richardson International is listed as one of three new directors for 2026-27.

Anderson will be a director-at-large nominated by the council’s board.

It is an interesting development because Richardson withdrew its funding from the Canola Council of Canada, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada in late-2017.

It had been spending more than $1 million per year funding the three organizations.

“We don’t think we got the value out of it,” Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

WHY IT MATTERS: The board appointment suggest industry heavyweight Richardson may have rejoined the commodity group.^

There were no press releases issued by either the canola council or Richardson about the company rejoining the fold.

The Western Producer has contacted both organizations and is waiting for a reply.

One of Richardson’s original concerns was over the canola council’s extensive work on agronomy when the private sector already had its own agronomists working in the countryside.

“Is there an element of duplication that should be looked at?” said Ruest at the time.

The council seemingly addressed that concern when it announced a “refreshed” strategic framework on July 31, 2025.

In that announcement, the organization said it would no longer maintain a field-based agronomy team.

The council said it would instead focus on three core priorities:

• Sustainable and reliable supply — growing the volume of Canadian canola to meet domestic and global market needs.
• Stable markets for value optimization — growing the economic value of canola by developing and defending markets for Canadian canola and canola products.
• Member service excellence — delivering continued value to members through council services and working to strengthen coordination and engagement with industry partners.

The post Board appointments hint Richardson Int. may rejoin canola council appeared first on Farmtario.

Darwin Sobkow was announced Jan. 6 as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective Jan. 10 with the formal retirement of Curt Vossen, the company’s CEO since 1995.

Sobkow served as chief operations officer since 2020 for the Winnipeg-based, privately-held firm, an arm of family-owned James Richardson & Sons.

The company’s ag industry holdings include a network of 55 Prairie grain elevators; port terminals in B.C., Ontario and Quebec; canola crush plants at Lethbridge and Yorkton; oat milling facilities in the three Prairie provinces and one each in the U.S. and U.K.; several further-processing plants; and 93 Prairie ag retail outlets supplying seed and crop inputs to farmers in the region.

During a nearly 30-year stint as CEO, Vossen oversaw much of that expansion, including the acquisition of more grain elevators, mainly during other Prairie grain handlers’ mergers and divestitures—as well as acquisitions such as U.S. durum miller Italgrani USA and the U.S.-based Wesson cooking oil brand.

“Under his leadership and bold vision, Richardson International evolved into a world-class organization with expertise across its vertically integrated agribusiness and food processing operations,” the company said in its Jan. 6 announcement.

Richardson noted Sobkow, who started with Richardson in 1999 as executive vice-president for agribusiness operations and processing, was “instrumental” in those acquisitions and integrations.

His “operational expertise and deep industry knowledge will guide Richardson International into its next phase of growth,” the company said.

The post New Richardson CEO steps in appeared first on Farmtario.

Winnipeg-based Richardson on Monday announced expanded rail car spots for its elevators at Lacombe, Carseland, Provost and Olds, Alta.; Estevan, Whitewood and Nokomis, Sask.; and its Dundonald elevator about 20 km north of Portage la Prairie, Man.

At Whitewood, about 110 km south of Yorkton, the expansion work will also include upgraded storage capacity, bringing it up to about 44,800 tonnes from its current 31,140. A company spokesperson said the upgrades will also boost that site’s loading speed to 134 cars in 16 hours.

The expansion work is due to start later this summer for completion by the end of next year, Richardson said.

The expansions, CPKC said, will allow future trains from these sites to run under the railway’s 8,500-foot (2.6-kilometre) High Efficiency Product (HEP) model.

CPKC’s standard unit train for grain, which today runs up to 7,000 feet (2.1 km), is the model Richardson today ships from 27 CPKC-served elevators in Canada and one in the northern U.S.

In 2018, before its merger with Kansas City Southern, CP unveiled new high-efficiency grain hopper cars for the HEP model, featuring a five per cent shorter frame capable of carrying 10 per cent greater weight and 15 per cent more volume than previous-generation hopper cars. In all, CP said at the time, the 8,500-foot HEP train model is expected to allow a train to handle about 44 percent more grain.

Richardson’s newest elevator, commissioned earlier this year at Carmichael, Sask., about 65 km southwest of Swift Current, marks the grain handler’s first 8,500-foot HEP-compatible site, with a loop track to handle up to 175 high cube-style rail cars.

Richardson president Darwin Sobkow said in a release Monday the expansions at the eight Prairie elevators “will increase capacity and efficiency, enabling Richardson to further benefit from CPKC’s single-line network reaching Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.”

CPKC executive vice-president John Brooks said in the same release Monday that “Richardson’s ability to run longer trains will mean more grain shipped per train, tighter cycles and more Richardson trains moving across our expanded, single-line network throughout the season.”

The move follows the completion in April of CPKC’s merger, which officially ties CP’s track to Kansas City’s lines in the U.S. and Mexico.

That single-line rail network will also make for a “seamless pipeline” between Richardson’s Prairie elevators in “durum-rich areas in Saskatchewan” and its U.S. durum flour milling operation, Italgrani, at St. Louis, CPKC said Monday.

“Furthermore, the combined network and markets in the southern U.S. and Mexico are opening new doors to Richardson for their grains, oilseeds and processed products.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Richardson elevators expanding to feed ‘high-efficiency’ trains appeared first on Farmtario.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401 announced Tuesday (Jan. 25) its negotiating committee “fully endorses” the new offer after the company’s Richardson Oilseed division “enhanced its offer of settlement.”

The workers’ previous contract expired at the end of August 2019; the union and company had agreed during earlier talks to seek a five-year contract taking it through to Aug. 31, 2024.

The next employee vote — to be held in person Feb. 1 at the Holiday Inn Express Lethbridge Southeast, and online on Feb. 2 — will be the second after workers voted 79 per cent to reject a previous proposal before Christmas.

Despite the union negotiators’ endorsement, UFCW said Tuesday, if the new offer is rejected, “we will proceed with the next steps towards a strike vote.”

The new offer, retroactive to September 2019, would see workers get a 2.25 per cent raise in the agreement’s first year, 2.75 per cent in the second, three per cent in the third and 2.5 per cent in each of the following three years — adding a sixth year to the agreement.

“By moving the money earlier in the contract, the negotiating committee was able to put more money in the membership pockets sooner,” UFCW executive director Chris O’Halloran said in a release Tuesday after the company agreed to the new raise schedule.

“We had heard that the membership wanted to see three per cent raises, and the company had offered them, but we wanted the money earlier in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement).”

Supplying customers in Canada and the U.S. as well as other export markets, Winnipeg-based Richardson’s Lethbridge plant has capacity to handle up to 700,000 tonnes of canola per year, following a $120 million expansion in 2017.

The Lethbridge plant includes a packaging facility at which canola oil is bottled and margarine and shortening are packaged. Its products are sold under the Canola Harvest and Wesson brands and to private-label and foodservice customers.

Richardson’s other oilseed facilities include its canola crush and refining plant at Yorkton, Sask. and its margarine plant at Oakville, Ont. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Richardson crush plant workers to vote on new offer appeared first on Farmtario.

The arm of Winnipeg’s Richardson International said Monday it has started construction on a new elevator at High Level in northwestern Alberta, about 200 km south of the province’s border with the Northwest Territories.

The new facility, connected to Canadian National Railway (CN) track, will have 32,000 tonnes of storage capacity and a loop track configuration able to load 135 rail cars, the company said.

Richardson Pioneer’s current wooden crib elevator at High Level has 6,500 tonnes of storage capacity.

The new facility, expected to be complete by fall 2020, will “work closely” with Richardson Pioneer’s new crop inputs business at nearby La Crete, bought in February from AgLand Seed and Chemical.

“The High Level area, with its solid and loyal customer base, is an important market for us,” Darwin Sobkow, the company’s executive vice-president of operations, said in Monday’s release.

“The construction of this new facility, along with the recently acquired crop input business in La Crete, shows our long-term commitment to the area and ensures we will be able to meet our customers’ growing needs.”

The company, in its release, also hailed the “collaborative efforts” of High Level town officials and of the High Level Agricultural Exhibition Association, which it said “ensured the project proceeded in a timely manner.”

The Town of High Level, in a separate release, said the new elevator’s site will take up a section of land formerly occupied by the association.

“In order to facilitate the new project, the town has been working with the (association) to relocate to a new site nearby and are currently working to prepare the lot in advance,” the town said.

High Level Mayor Crystal McAteer hailed the announcement as “a dream come true” for the town, adding that area farmers “will be able to save valuable time and thousands of dollars in transportation costs from not having to drive all the way to other grain handling facilities.”

Town officials, she said, are “extremely grateful” to the association “for seeing the benefit of the new grain terminal to the entire region and once again agreeing to move their infrastructure to a new location.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Richardson to replace northernmost grain elevator appeared first on Farmtario.

Despite ongoing conversations, the Canola Council of Canada had been informed Chinese importers were no longer interested in purchasing Canadian canola seed.

Technical conversations, the release said, had not shown an “immediate resolution was possible.”

At this time, Canola Council President Jim Everson said, the industry had no choice but to try and find alternative markets for Canadian canola seed.

That news release confirmed what many in agriculture had feared for weeks, after Chinese officials pulled Richardson International’s export licence because of, still unproven, concerns about what it called “hazardous organisms.”

Canadian farmers are now caught in the middle of escalating trade and diplomatic tension between Ottawa and China, which also happens to buy 40 per cent of the canola Canada exports.

The fear now is whether the situation, which brings with it possible political and economic pain, will further escalate.

With spring seeding fast-approaching and agriculture markets upset by the uncertainty, the fear about what the dispute with China could mean for farmers’ bottom lines grows by the day.

Canada’s canola problem with China is yet another fire for Trudeau’s embattled Liberals to fight at a time when the party has spent much of 2019 on the defensive.

Internationally, Canada-China diplomatic relations are strained. China remains livid about Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer for Chinese telecom giant Huawei, following an extradition requested from the United States.

Canada said the arrest was necessary to uphold the rule of law because Canada and the U.S. have an extradition treaty.

That did little to mute Chinese anger.

The diplomatic dispute has also cost Canada its ambassador to China, who was fired by the prime minister after he suggested to reporters Wanzhou had a strong legal case.

Closer to home, the Trudeau government has spent more than month on the defensive following allegations the prime minister’s office inappropriately pressured the former attorney general in relation to a file involving SNC Lavalin.

It’s a political crisis that has seen two cabinet ministers, a senior adviser to the prime minister and the clerk of the privy council (this country’s top bureaucrat) resign and triggered a 31-hour voting marathon in the House of Commons.

The possibility of a drawn-out dispute with China over canola exports is also unlikely to do the Liberals any favours in Western Canada, where the economy is already a hot-button issue thanks to troubles in the energy sector.

The agriculture sector is a major employer in Western Canada. In Alberta alone, it’s estimated 3,000 jobs are directly tied to canola, with 70 per cent of the province’s exports to China related to canola.

Then, there are the political concerns. Those who follow Canadian politics know that the East-West political divide is as much reality as the urban-rural spread. With a federal election just around the corner, fears over western alienation are re-emerging.

From the start, the Trudeau government only had a handful of western voices in its caucus outside of British Columbia, thanks to the fact western Canadian voters, particularly on the Prairies, tend to vote Conservative.

Both Liberal MPs from Calgary now sit as independents. Edmonton MP Amarjeet Sohi, Trudeau’s natural resources minister, has his hands full with the economic and market access struggles of Canada’s oil and gas sector — another file of great importance to many Western Canadians.

Fellow Edmontonian Randy Boissonault, meanwhile, sits on the House of Commons justice committee that until recently was handling the SNC Lavalin affair.

The task of finding a solution to the canola problem has fallen to International Trade Minister Jim Carr. The importance of the file is not lost on him. The Richardson’s family has deep ties to Winnipeg – where Carr is from.

Carr has said there is no scientific basis for China’s concerns about pests in Canadian canola.

Conversations between Canadian and Chinese officials are ongoing. While Beijing has provided preliminary technical evidence, so far there’s been no sign the Chinese are willing to change their minds on the issue.

Carr is scheduled to testify in front of the House international trade committee on the canola-China dispute in early April alongside Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

The post Opinion: Agriculture now part of grand global political game appeared first on Farmtario.

The Chinese government recently announced it had embargoed canola exports from one of this country’s largest grain exporters: Richardson International Ltd.

The Richardson embargo comes at a time of increased diplomatic tensions between Canada and China. Beijing says the move is required because a shipment from the company contained “hazardous pests.”

A few days later, Chinese officials upped the ante, announcing Canadian canola exports as a whole will now face more rigid import inspections.

China’s actions have dealt a major blow to this country’s agriculture industry. Canada is the world’s largest canola exporter. Canadian canola exports to China alone are valued at around $2 billion.

• Read more: China’s ban on Canadian canola expands to Viterra

The diplomatic spat also comes just months after Canada and China agreed in late 2018 to double the agricultural trade relationship, currently estimated to total some $8.4 billion, by 2025. In addition to canola, China is considered a premium market for Canadian agricultural goods including seafood, barley, pork, peas and maple syrup.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who once took a jar of her father’s canola with her to China during a working visit in 2016, said there is no scientific basis for the Chinese government’s allegations.

Freeland, along with newly appointed Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Minister Jim Carr have said the issue is of the utmost importance for the Canadian government.

But tensions between Canada and China over canola exports are not new.

In 2016, the same year Freeland packed a jar of her family’s canola in her suitcase, Canadian farmers were fearful they were about to lose access to their largest canola market. The concern came after China threatened to tighten its rules around the amount of foreign material, called dockage, allowed in canola shipments.

Chinese officials argued the new dockage limits were necessary to prevent the spread of blackleg, a disease that is also mentioned in the heightened inspection notice released by Beijing on March 7.

In September 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed to a memorandum of understanding around blackleg that accepted Canada’s current thresholds until March 2020.

Canada’s canola industry has said that agreement must be extended past its March 2020 deadline in order to ensure the market access issue does not resurface. Industry has also quietly warned the dockage issue with China could re-emerge at any time.

But canola isn’t the only Canadian crop facing export issues. The list of agricultural trade disputes Canadian farmers face keeps growing.

Take pulses, for instance.

Canada and India remain deadlocked in a longstanding dispute over pest-control practices, known as fumigation, for pulse crops like lentils and peas. Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to resolve the issue by the end of 2018.

That hasn’t happened. Instead, Canada and the United States announced earlier this year that they were taking the issue to the World Trade Organization.

Canada is one of the biggest suppliers of pulse crops to India, with more than 80 per cent of lentils and 50 per cent of peas grown in Saskatchewan exported there.

Then there’s the ongoing trade issues with Italy over durum wheat.

Canada and Italy have been embroiled in the dispute, which has been spurred by Italian consumer fears around the popular weed-killer glyphosate and proposed “Made in Italy” country-of-origin labelling requirements by Rome.

Canadian durum exports to Italy have slumped as a result. Former Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay told senators in May 2018 that Canada was considering challenging the policy at the WTO. No challenge has been filed thus far. The issue also remains unresolved.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s market access secretariat continues to work on hundreds of technical trade issues affecting Canadian agriculture goods.

In 2015, the Trudeau government flagged Canada’s agriculture industry as a potential economic darling. That year’s budget challenged the sector to grow its exports to $75 billion by 2025.

MacAulay during his tenure as agriculture minister repeatedly insisted that target was obtainable.

For now, Canada’s agriculture industry, which is heavily reliant on its ability to export, remains cautiously optimistic about that trade target, even as the list of trade issues lengthens and global trade uncertainty continues to grow.

On March 19, Finance Minister Bill Morneau was expected to release the Trudeau government’s latest fiscal plan. That budget may or may not include funding and policy directives for Canadian agriculture and agricultural trade.

The post Opinion: Federal government struggles to deal with trade irritants appeared first on Farmtario.

Beijing this month cancelled Richardson’s registration to ship Canadian canola to China, the world’s top importer of the oilseed, in the latest sign of tensions between the countries, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Canada and China are locked in a dispute over trade and telecoms technology that has ensnared the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, who faces U.S. criminal charges.

China foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday that customs officials had frequently discovered pests in samples taken recently from imports from Canada, which supplies more than 90 per cent of Chinese canola imports.

Winnipeg-based, privately-held Richardson is the largest exporter of Canadian canola to China and its shipments met Chinese requirements, said Jean-Marc Ruest, the company’s general counsel and senior vice-president of corporate affairs.

“We’re firmly of the view that there was no substantiation of those allegations,” he said in a phone interview.

Richardson is working with the Canadian government to end China’s block on its canola shipments but does not know how long the suspension will last, Ruest said.

Asked about the reason for the suspension, he said: “We can only guess at this point in time. We’re a prominent Canadian corporation.”

Beijing has previously warned of potential curbs on canola imports, citing concerns over fungus in the imports. Canola is used for cooking and as feed for animals and fish.

In 2016, China tried to impose tougher standards on levels of foreign material in canola imports, which was seen by some as an effort by China to reduce high domestic stocks.

“Recently China customs frequently detected hazardous pests in imports of Canadian canola, and in one company’s imports the problem was particularly serious,” Lu said during a regular press briefing.

Lu did not identify the company but said the situation led customs to temporarily suspend imports.

The latest suspension was completely “reasonable and legal” and aimed at protecting the health and safety of Chinese citizens, Lu said.

Canada’s agriculture minister said Tuesday that Canada’s food inspection agency had carried out further investigations in response to China’s moves and had not identified any pests or bacteria of concern.

ICE May canola futures fell for a second straight day, down $2.30 or 0.5 per cent, to $455.50 in midday trading.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Tom Polansek in Chicago; writing by Dominique Patton.

The post Richardson disputes China claim of ‘hazardous pests’ in canola appeared first on Farmtario.