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Olymel to idle multiple Prairie hog barns

Packer cites 'continued financial losses' in sector

Reading Time: 2 minutes Pork packer Olymel is preparing to dial back its hog production in Western Canada by shuttering six of its sow units in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Olymel, the agrifood arm of Quebec’s Sollio Cooperative Group, announced Friday it has served 80 employees with layoff notices at five sow units in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. The […] Read more

(Deermart video screengrab via YouTube)

Deere mega-dealership buys into Red Deer market

Reading Time: < 1 minute A central Alberta John Deere dealership which billed itself as “one of the few independently owned” dealers in the region is set to join Cervus Equipment. Calgary-based, publicly-traded Cervus announced Friday it will buy Red Deer-based Deermart Equipment Sales for an undisclosed sum. Deermart, owned by John Donald, Jack Donald and Abe Derksen since 1982, […] Read more


(Staff photo)

Online livestock supply store expands reach west

Reading Time: 2 minutes An Ontario livestock nutrition firm’s venture into online retail for producers is expanding into the Prairie provinces with four pickup and ordering points in the region. Cambridge, Ont.-based GVF Group announced Thursday its Farmers Farmacy business, previously available only to producers in Ontario, the Maritime provinces and Quebec, now also serves Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. […] Read more

(Lafleur.com)

Olymel plans sausage production at Red Deer

Reading Time: 2 minutes New equipment and refrigerated storage are going into Olymel’s Alberta pork processing plant at Red Deer as the facility gets into the sausage business. Pork and poultry processor Olymel, owned mainly by Quebec agribusiness co-operative La Coop federee, announced Monday it will put up $2 million to convert a section of the Red Deer plant […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Paterson to build new central Alta. elevator

Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg’s Paterson Grain has lined up property off the QE2 Highway in central Alberta for its next inland grain terminal. The company announced Monday it would start construction “immediately” at a site near Bowden, Alta., about 40 km south of Red Deer, to start taking grain in 2017. The facility, when complete, will have storage […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Coop Federee to offer Olymel stake

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Quebec-based La Coop Federee, one of Canada’s biggest farmer co-operatives, is offering for sale up to 49 per cent of pork processor Olymel, to help fund expansion in Western Canada, CEO Gaetan Desroches said in an interview. La Co-op would retain control of Olymel, which along with Maple Leaf Foods is one of […] Read more