Web Posted | Nov 4 2004 05:05 PM CST
Province gives beef co-op $2 million more
WINNIPEG - The provincial government will put more money into the proposed Rancher's Choice Beef Co-operative, so the group can go ahead with its proposed slaughterhouse in Dauphin.
The new money brings the province's total commitment to Rancher's Choice to $11.5 million, including a $4.5 million equity investment and $7 million in loans.
Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk stresses that the government does expect to see results for its millions in investment.
"Eventually it will be paid back because we don't want to own the plant," Wowchuk explains. "As the producers build up their equity, they will then take ownership. We are in this to help the producers get a plant going so they have equity and can benefit not only from raising animals, but also from processing."
Rancher's Choice plans to pay back the money by asking producers who sell cattle to the plant to buy a $100 share.
With the new provincial money, Rancher's Choice doesn't quite have the $16 million it needs, but president David Reykdal says they're almost there.
"We are moving ahead. As we speak, other directors are securing funding for financing," he says. "We should have it by tomorrow night."
* FROM SEPT. 22, 2004: Slaughterhouse co-op still needs millions
Reykdal says the organization plans to start pouring a foundation this fall in Dauphin, where the city and municipality have offered the co-op free land. The group plans to buy equipment and a building from a defunct American slaughterhouse.
By next summer, the plant could be processing 250 cattle a day.
The Rancher's Choice Co-operative formed after the United States closed its border to live Canadian cattle after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was discovered in Alberta in May 2003. Before the BSE crisis hit, most cattle from this province were shipped south of the border to be killed.
Les Wedderburn, a cattle producer northwest of Brandon, says a slaughter plant is just what producers need.
"We, like a lot of other people, have probably held on to more mature cattle than we normally would," he says. "Our culling program hasn't gone as usual because there hasn't been a good market for those cows, [so] this kill plant will be a positive thing."
The province says it's now up to producers to commit their cattle to the plant.
Province gives beef co-op $2 million more
WINNIPEG - The provincial government will put more money into the proposed Rancher's Choice Beef Co-operative, so the group can go ahead with its proposed slaughterhouse in Dauphin.
The new money brings the province's total commitment to Rancher's Choice to $11.5 million, including a $4.5 million equity investment and $7 million in loans.
Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk stresses that the government does expect to see results for its millions in investment.
"Eventually it will be paid back because we don't want to own the plant," Wowchuk explains. "As the producers build up their equity, they will then take ownership. We are in this to help the producers get a plant going so they have equity and can benefit not only from raising animals, but also from processing."
Rancher's Choice plans to pay back the money by asking producers who sell cattle to the plant to buy a $100 share.
With the new provincial money, Rancher's Choice doesn't quite have the $16 million it needs, but president David Reykdal says they're almost there.
"We are moving ahead. As we speak, other directors are securing funding for financing," he says. "We should have it by tomorrow night."
* FROM SEPT. 22, 2004: Slaughterhouse co-op still needs millions
Reykdal says the organization plans to start pouring a foundation this fall in Dauphin, where the city and municipality have offered the co-op free land. The group plans to buy equipment and a building from a defunct American slaughterhouse.
By next summer, the plant could be processing 250 cattle a day.
The Rancher's Choice Co-operative formed after the United States closed its border to live Canadian cattle after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was discovered in Alberta in May 2003. Before the BSE crisis hit, most cattle from this province were shipped south of the border to be killed.
Les Wedderburn, a cattle producer northwest of Brandon, says a slaughter plant is just what producers need.
"We, like a lot of other people, have probably held on to more mature cattle than we normally would," he says. "Our culling program hasn't gone as usual because there hasn't been a good market for those cows, [so] this kill plant will be a positive thing."
The province says it's now up to producers to commit their cattle to the plant.
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