A Winkler sunflower and bird food processing plant is now under Manitoban ownership.
The facility, previously owned by U.S.-based Scoular, has been bought by Orenda Commodity Services Ltd. out of Ste. Agathe. The deal includes all of Scoular’s sunflower and wild bird food blending business, according to a Jan. 20 release from the Nebraska company.
“Running two facilities, that’ll do two things,” said Nicolas Nordick, assistant general manager with Orenda. “It’ll obviously grow our throughput in a year, and what it’ll also do is it will give us a bit of flexibility if ever there is breakdowns or whatever. We can keep servicing our customers and also our producers as well. We can keep receiving loads in either facility.”
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WHY IT MATTERS: Local farmer contracts with Orenda are expected to jump significantly with a new sunflower facility under the company’s umbrella.
According to the Jan. 20 release, the new owners are a family-owned, “vertically integrated operation with farming roots in the Woodlands (region),” who create custom seed mixes for both bird food and human consumption. The Winkler plant is set up for both streams, Scoular said.
According to Orenda’s website, their business spans special crops commodity marketing, farm sourcing, processing, custom bird food blending, packaging and shipping. As well as sunflower varieties, the company cites crops like millet, milo, safflower and canary seed.
Smooth transition expected
Winkler facility staff will carry over into the new ownership, according to Nordick.
“There’s a very solid crew down in Winkler that mesh really well with our crew in Ste. Agathe — a lot of long-term employees, and that is just very rewarding for us on our end, being the new kids on the block, that they are willing to stay on,” he said.
The company expects farmer contracts will jump with the addition.
“If we’ve got two mouths to feed, we’ve got to service that many more pounds, so it’ll keep growing for sure,” Nordick said.
According to the Jan. 20 release, Orenda employs 80 staff across four locations in Manitoba.
