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Co-op Feeds restructuring to stay competitive, sustainable

May 13, 2019

After a full review of its feed business, Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) is consolidating feed production from six facilities across the Prairies to three in Saskatoon, Calgary and Moosomin.

FCL will make significant capital investments to modernize these remaining plants. One investment is in new bagging equipment that will be installed to support better stitched, open-mouth bags that will be distributed through the entire Co-operative Retailing System (CRS).

The review and decision to close facilities, along with the investments in the business, address unprecedented competitor consolidation and a changing market in the feed sector. After contributing to the Western Canadian feed business for decades, FCL is making these changes to help ensure that it can continue providing Co-op feed products and services in the long-term.

“While we don’t make these decisions lightly, by consolidating manufacturing and taking measures to refocus our resources in the livestock sector, we’re better able to serve our local co-ops and their producer customers across Western Canada well into the future,” said Ron Healey, FCL Vice-President of Agriculture and Consumer Business.

FCL is transitioning products and services from the Brandon, Man., and Melfort, Sask., plants that are closing to the remaining three plants. The Melfort plant will wind down in August 2019 and the Brandon plant will cease operations in October 2019. FCL’s other feed facility in Edmonton will transfer its operations to Wetaskiwin Co-op in September 2019.

“These plants have been in their communities for many years and I want to thank all of the team members who have contributed so much for so many years,” said Shelley Revering, FCL Director of Feed. “The concentration of our feed manufacturing operations results from industry challenges and in no way reflects the substantial efforts of our plant teams.”

Through its feed plants, FCL manufactures cattle, horse, sheep and poultry feed in bags and bulk orders. It also produces pet food for the CRS.