Updated, July 17 — Cargill’s Canadian wing plans to close an “outdated” grain elevator and ag input site in northwestern Alberta by the end of next month and redirect farmers elsewhere in the region.
The Winnipeg-based arm of the U.S. agrifood firm said Tuesday it will close its small concrete elevator and crop inputs dealership at Albright, about 50 km west of Grande Prairie, effective July 31.
Cargill said staff will continue serving area producers through its grain handling facility at Rycroft, about a 120-km drive northeast.
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Existing crop input products at the Albright site will be shipped to the Rycroft facility or direct to farmer customers, the company said.
“The decision to close our Albright grain elevator was not easy and is in no way a reflection of the great work provided by our professional staff over the years,” Mike Witkowicz, Cargill’s regional farm service group leader, said in the company’s release.
However, he said, the facility, which was built in the mid-1980s and last upgraded in 1987, “had become outdated, with no viable option for further investment.”
According to the Canadian Grain Commission, the Albright elevator, served by Canadian National Railway (CN), is registered as a licensed primary elevator with grain handling capacity of about 6,080 tonnes.
Witkowicz said in an email Thursday that the company is considering its options for the site, among them the sale of the land and facility, or the demolition of the facility.
Other than Rycroft, the company operates facilities in Alberta’s Peace region at Fairview, Grimshaw and Manning.
