Mr. Speaker, in the great western tradition of private enterprise and finding opportunities, the West Central Pelleting company of Wilkie, Saskatchewan has built itself into a successful, value-added operation.
Five hundred shareholders, consisting of retired and active farmers, small business people and other citizens, raised $2.2 million to start this operation. The company takes in screenings. That is the plant material left over after the grain has been cleaned and processed. Though screenings have long been known to have nutritional value as animal feed, they have usually been shipped elsewhere, along with the employment opportunities.
West Central Pelleting uses nutritional consultants to provide its growing customer base with made-to-order feed products. According to Bonnie Stephenson of Grainews , “West Central has met its first year goal of 20,000 metric tonnes of production and has just completed an expansion that has tripled its storage capacity”. There are 15 employees there now and I predict a lot more jobs to come as prairie people apply their know-how and determination to succeed.
Congratulations, West Central Pelleting.