Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, said on June 16 that this month it will begin construction of a new state-of-the-art US$30 million fertilizer retail and distribution center adjacent to its canola crush plant in Camrose, Alta. The facility is scheduled to open in August 2021.
The facility’s location was designed to bring efficiency to customers who haul canola to the existing Camrose crush plant, saving both time and fuel when they return from the crush plant with a load of fertilizer. Local authorities also noted that the backfill situation will decrease truck traffic.
“This new retail and distribution center will enable us to better meet Alberta farmers’ crop nutrition needs while also connecting them to the benefits of the canola crush plant and our network of crop inputs retails and grain elevators, where they can access a range of grain risk management solutions and grain marketing advisory service,” said Allan Facchinutti, Alberta Commercial Leader for Cargill’s agricultural supply chain business.
Cargill said the cutting edge facility will have a number of industry-leading features, including 35,000 mt of storage capacity, with space for both bulk product and value-added fertilizer such as MicroEssentials products; the fastest load times in the market for blended or straight fertilizer; and the first retail site in Western Canada to offer four-product liquid coating capabilities for micronutrients like YaraVita Procote and nutrient stabilizer coatings.
Cargill said farmers will also see faster product availability – particularly in Vermilion, Vegreville, Leduc, and Beiseker – due to improved fertilizer flows within the rest of Cargill’s crop inputs network.
Cargill said the center marks more than $300 million invested by the company in capital projects in the province over the past five years. In total, Cargill said it has 40 retail outlets across Western Canada.
The new Camrose facility was initially issued a permit by Camrose County, later approved by the Municipal Planning Commission, which cited its ideal location next to an internal roadway, directly adjacent to existing railway operations and directly north of Cargill’s crush plant.
However, this decision was appealed by the City of Camrose and a neighboring landowner to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB). In February 2019, the SDAB denied the appeal and issued a development permit, on the condition that Cargill include fencing of the area and add a berm on the east side of the property to minimize noise to nearby residences. The company also was required to contribute to the City of Camrose for offsite utility servicing.