Stewart Wells and the AGT Pasta Plant

[gustgd]

Wheat Growers thrilled by pasta plant announcement

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is delighted by today’s announcement that Alliance Grain Traders plans to build a new pasta plant in Regina. The plant will be the first commercial-size pasta plant to be built on the prairies in decades.

“This is fantastic news for prairie durum growers,” says Gerrid Gust, Chair of the Wheat Growers. “A durum mill and pasta plant in our own backyard gives us another good marketing option.”

The Wheat Growers congratulate Alliance Grain Traders for being the first company out of the blocks in recognizing the opportunities that will arise for processors looking to buy wheat and barley direct from prairie farmers under an open market.

The announcement by Alliance follows the federal government’s decision to give grain marketing freedom to prairie farmers, effective August 2012. Implementing an open market for wheat and barley is expected to spur significant investment in new processing facilities and variety research throughout the prairies.

“I’m already planning to increase my durum acres next year,” says Cherilyn Nagel, Past President of the Wheat Growers. “It’s just the kind of investment that will help boost our profits and help boost the provincial economy.”

The plant is also good news for Canadian consumers looking to buy Canadian. There are currently few pasta plants on the prairies and none of any significant size. North Dakota, on the other hand, is home to five pasta plants, including one plant that produces almost as much pasta as all of Canada.

Canada currently ranks 16th in terms of world pasta production, despite growing more durum wheat than any other country in the world. About half of the world’s exports of durum wheat originate in Canada.

“The announcement of this plant will increase the share of our durum that is processed here at home,” says Gust. “It’s great news for farmers, great news for consumers and great news for the Canadian economy.”

For further comment, please contact:



Gerrid Gust

Chair

(306) 567-7120
Cherilyn Nagel
Past President
(306) 354-7368

[wilagro]

What's missing from the picture is some captions.

Perhaps Harper saying "What in heck is this stuff?, is this what the peasants eat? I'll stick with my filet Mignon, thank you.

[SASKFARMER3]

All you CWB supporters show us your Ideas, AH thats right you dont have any just take my HRS and Durum and were all equal. Not going to happen any more. THANK GOD@!!!!!!!

[farmaholic]

Tom4CWB: You're wielding an awful wide brush with that comment. Does it make you any better than I_F. Just because someone doesn't share our beleifs doesn't make them any worse or better than us. I singled out I_F for his comments and didn't drag a whole group of people with a different philosophy than me into it. AND no God bless sign-off!!!

[cottonpicken]

Lol,i really got to stop skipping over posts.

[sumdumguy]

It'll never be clear to I_F. He must be so blinded by losing his cushy little office that he may blow the top of his own head off. Feel like a steam engine foul mouthed fanatic?

[Hopperbin]

"We have built a successful global pasta business based out of our production facilities in Turkey. With the good conditions in Canada, we feel that significant opportunities exist to expand our operations here. Our relationships with growers in Western Canada and our relationships with our international customers we sell to everyday create opportunities and synergies that we feel may be realized through this investment. This expansion is an important step in ensuring a strong foundation for our future by solidifying our pasta milling capacity in Canada and moving us further up the value chain in our pulses platform. This, we feel, will assist in enabling us to continue to successfully and profitably supply the world with pulse ingredients and our other products," added Mr. Huseyin Arslan, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for AGT.

[wilagro]

"create opportunities and synergies"...yep words right out of pro public relations firm's workbook.

Ordinary people don't speak like that.

[wilagro]

According to the "Financial Times" Murad Al-Katib makes $780,000 a year in his position with Atlantic Grain Traders Inc..

That is not bad compensation.

Of course he could make more than that through other duties and/or positions with the companies that he is involved with. I wonder how many durum wheat growers make that kind of money.

[checking]

Wilagro.

When you were heading that millon dollar company you mentioned, were you satisfied with your pay? More - less than your farming?

I think you will agree that there is a mile of difference between making $780,000 and keeping $780,000. It's peanut butter compared to some of the posters on here.

It's said that the wheel of justice grinds slow, but it grinds fine. Too bad your board wouldn't have hit the mill on August 2011.