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

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Steve Biggar, associate vice-president of fertilizer and energy products for Winnipeg-based Richardson, said it was the right time for the company to launch CirrusX because of new treaters the company has installed to allow liquid products to be applied onto granular fertilizers.

“Over half of our locations have these new treating systems and most of our customers are able to access the technology either at their local site or at a neighbouring Richardson location,” he said.

CirrusX, a liquid product, could be used in combination with granular fertilizers to improve efficiency of the fertilizer and control loss of nitrogen due to volatilization, denitrification and leaching.

Biggar said that Richardson chose a nitrogen stabilizer as its first proprietary crop input because having the new treating equipment made entering the market easy.

“For us it made sense because we have control over the whole supply chain in terms of bringing the material in in totes, hooking those totes up to a treater that is attached to our fertilizer blender and then shipping out the blends to our customers,” he said.

CirrusX is already on the market and available for purchase, but those looking to get their hands on CirrusX will have to go directly to a Richardson Pioneer location. Biggar said CirrusX is a Richardson Pioneer-exclusive product, and the company has no plans to wholesale the product to other retailers.

“Typically, how we would recommend a product like this would be through one of our agronomists or salespeople,” said Biggar.

Currently, there is no plan for Richardson to release a pricing deal for growers who already use their products.

“We have over 100 certified crop advisors who work with customers to develop individual crop plans. We’ll be approaching the market mainly through our own sales and agronomy people.”

Going forward, Richardson will be looking to gradually add to and expand its own line of products.

“We’re looking at other foliar micronutrient products,” said Biggar. “We probably would look at some crop protection products. We’re looking for products that have proven value and a good track record.”

Richardson hopes the launch of CirrusX will help its customers attain the 4R Nutrient Stewardship method to increase crop yields.

Richardson Pioneer, Biggar said, is a “firm supporter” of 4R, a framework meant to help farmers achieve optimal crop production by way of the four R’s: right fertilizer source, right rate, right time and right place.

“We know that growers don’t want to spend any more money on fertilizer than they have to, so having urea that is treated with CirrusX will allow growers to have the right nitrogen source and ensures the nutrients are available at the right time.”

Richardson believes its customers are sustainable growers and world leaders in following best practices when using fertilizer, he said. “We see CirrusX as just another tool to allow growers to increase their efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint.”

— Hannah Polk reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Regina.

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The Winnipeg company’s current site, on Canadian National Railway (CN) track about six kilometres north of the town of Swan River, is anchored by a wooden crib workhouse and up until 2001 had about 4,850 tonnes of storage capacity.

Richardson in 2002 began to add steel bin storage at the site, which according to the Canadian Grain Commission has capacity today for about 28,310 tonnes of grain.

“While the current original wood structure has served an important role in supporting our customers within the Swan River Valley, it is nearing the end of its useful life span,” Richardson Pioneer’s chief operations officer Darwin Sobkow said Monday in a release.

The new high-throughput, which Richardson expects to complete by August next year, is to have 36,600 tonnes of storage capacity and a loop track system to load 150 rail cars.

The new site will also have high-speed receiving and loadout, a “modern and efficient” grain cleaning system and a new 4,600-square foot office, the company said.

The site will remain “fully operational during the entire construction period through the existing grain and crop inputs facilities,” Richardson said.

The company, Sobkow said, has had a “significant presence” in the Swan River Valley for over 40 years and redevelopment there is “the next logical course of action.”

Privately-held Richardson is the only major Prairie grain handler with capacity at Swan River. In 2007 it also picked up an older elevator in town from Agricore United, as the latter company prepared to merge into Viterra.

However, under order from the federal Competition Bureau that year, Richardson dealt that site away to Cargill, which already owned another small older elevator nearby.

Cargill in 2015 shut down and demolished both its Swan River elevators, saying they would need “significant and costly” upgrades to remain in operation. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Winnipeg company said Thursday it expects to complete a new high-throughput grain elevator by fall next year on Canadian National Railway (CN) track at Huallen, about 35 km west of Grande Prairie.

The Huallen elevator will have 45,000 tonnes of storage capacity and a loop track system to load up to 150 rail cars, Richardson said.

The new build will give Richardson Pioneer presence in the County of Grande Prairie, which Tom Hamilton, the company’s senior vice-president for agribusiness operations, described in a release Thursday as “one of the most productive regions in Western Canada.”

The company’s grain handle in the larger Peace region also includes Alberta elevators at Rycroft and Nampa and a facility at Dawson Creek, B.C.

Further north, Richardson also recently replaced an older elevator with a new high-throughput facility at High Level, Alta., which “has significantly expanded shipping capacity in a region historically underserved,” the company said.

Once the Huallen elevator is complete, Richardson said it will build a retail crop inputs facility at the site, to be open in late 2022. That operation will include a high-speed fertilizer blender and 10,000-square foot warehouse, the company said.

The Huallen crop inputs facility “will enable us to provide a full-service option for both grain and agronomics,” Hamilton said.

“This will include offering our customers leading seed, fertilizer and crop protection technologies in addition to year-round support with CropWatch agronomic services and CropMatrix digital services.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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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

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Winnipeg-based Richardson announced Wednesday it has bought Agland Seed and Chemical at La Crete, Alta., about 320 km north of Peace River.

The deal, which closed Tuesday, will see all of Agland’s staff become Richardson Pioneer employees. Financial terms aren’t being released.

“We know that under the Richardson Pioneer umbrella, we will be able to not only continue to provide the excellent service our customers have grown to know, but we will be able to expand our offerings for customers, giving them the best possible products and services,” Agland co-owner George Unrau said in a Richardson release.

Richardson said Wednesday it had previously identified the La Crete area as “a gap within the Richardson Pioneer crop inputs network” on the Prairies.

The Agland location is expected to “complement” Richardson’s nearest ag business centre in High Level, about 100 km northwest of La Crete. Richardson has operated at High Level since 2013, when it bought the former Viterra facility there.

“We look forward to building relationships with producers in the area and providing them with leading seed, fertilizer and crop protection technologies, in addition to year-round support with our CropWatch agronomy team supported by our leading edge CropMatrix platform,” Tom Hamilton, Richardson’s vice-president for agribusiness operations, said in the same release.

The company’s CropMatrix agronomic platform, launched in 2017, is used by Richardson representatives and farmer customers to analyze farms’ yield data and product performance information. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The company, an arm of Winnipeg-based agrifood firm Richardson International, closed a deal April 4 to buy Eagle Agro Services, an inputs dealer at Veteran, Alta., about 200 km east of Red Deer.

The family-owned Eagle Agro business “is a great addition to our network and we are pleased to welcome the employees to our team,” Richardson’s vice-president of agribusiness operations, Tom Hamilton, said in a release.

“Producers can be assured that they will be dealing with the same people at the location and we will build on the trust and level of service to which they have been accustomed.”

The deal for Eagle Agro, which has operated at Veteran since 2002, puts Richardson into “a new geography” in Alberta, he said.

“We look forward to building relationships with producers in the area and providing them with leading seed, fertilizer and crop protection technologies in addition to year-round support with our CropWatch agronomy team supported by our leading-edge CropMatrix platform.”

The CropMatrix platform, which Richardson rolled out in April last year, includes agronomic tools allowing farmer customers to “analyze and gain insights from production and yield data.”

Richardson Pioneer said at that time the new platform will allow it “to streamline the management of its field trials across the Prairies to get information out to customers quickly and efficiently.” — AGCanada.com Network

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Richardson on Monday announced it will buy Webb’s Crop Services Ltd. at Vermilion and Agro Guys Inc. at Forestburg, about 165 km southwest of Vermilion, for undisclosed sums.

Both deals are expected to close Thursday, with employees joining Richardson Pioneer on Friday, the company said in a release.

Winnipeg-based Richardson described both businesses as independent, full-service retail crop input centres which provide local customers with seed, fertilizer and crop protection products.

Webb’s Crop Services is one of the Webb’s family of businesses in the Vermilion area, including New Holland equipment dealer Webb’s Machinery and auto dealer Webb’s Ford. It expanded into the crop input business starting as an Elephant fertilizer dealer in 1943.

Agro Guys started operations in 2004 and expanded to its current site at Highways 53 and 36 in 2009, where it set up its dry fertilizer blending facility plus a larger chemical shed and added more anhydrous delivery units and wagons.

Both operations will provide customers with inputs and services in their local catchments, Richardson said, but noted producers in that region of Alberta also have access to grain handling and merchandising through Richardson Pioneer’s ag business centres at Lamont, Lavoy and Legacy Junction and at Marshall, Sask.

Privately-held Richardson bought a southeastern Saskatchewan input dealer in January, opened another new retail site in southwestern Saskatchewan this year and has two more Saskatchewan retail sites under construction.

The company is “focused on aggressively growing our retail crop inputs network across the Prairies,” Tom Hamilton, its vice-president for agribusiness operations, said in Monday’s release.

“Whether through acquisition, building new or enhancing our existing facilities, we will continue to pursue opportunities to expand our Richardson Pioneer network and offer our services to more customers in strategic locations.” –– AGCanada.com Network

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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.

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

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The company said Monday it will replace its crop input facility at Wakaw, about 90 km northeast of Saskatoon, and build new at Pasqua, just east of Moose Jaw, and at Elrose, about 110 km north of Swift Current.

The new facilities will each have high-speed fertilizer blending capabilities, “modern” offices and a 6,000-square-foot crop input warehouse. Construction is to start this fall, with the plan being to have the new stores up and running by “later 2017.”

Richardson also plans to announce “additional new builds in the coming months,” Tom Hamilton, the company’s vice-president for agribusiness operations, said in a release.

The three sites named so far in Saskatchewan are in areas the company said it identified as “opportunities” in its Richardson Pioneer network, as part of its capital expansion plan.

Hamilton said the company looked forward to becoming part of the communities of Pasqua and Elrose and to “improving our business” in Wakaw. — AGCanada.com Network

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