Prairie grain firm Richardson International plans to build out its retail market share in west-central Saskatchewan with a new inputs centre southwest of Saskatoon.

Privately-held Richardson said July 30 it would begin construction shortly on the new facility in Delisle, about 35 km southwest of the city, to open for the 2019 growing season.

The new site is to include a 6,000-square-foot warehouse, high-speed blenders and the “full range” of seed and crop protection products plus crop planning and agronomic support at a new office.

Tom Hamilton, Richardson’s vice-president for agribusiness operations, described the region around Delisle as “a highly productive area… located where we currently do not have a strong presence.”

Local growers, he noted, have access to grain handling and merchandising through Richardson Pioneer’s nearby Carlton Crossing elevator, southeast of Martensville.

For crop inputs, a Delisle site would fill a geographical gap in Richardson’s retail map. Apart from Carlton Crossing, about 60 km northeast, ag retail customers in that area would deal with Richardson at ag business centres such as Davidson, Kindersley, Unity or Hamlin, all at least 150 km away.

Apart from its new builds, Winnipeg-based Richardson has also been buying ag retail operations on the Prairies in recent months, including Eagle Agro Services, Webb’s Crop Services and Agro Guys in eastern Alberta, Bestland Air southwest of Winnipeg and CHS Canada’s 10 sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan. — Glacier FarmMedia Network