Canadian grain: Wheat board plans another elevator in Manitoba; Viterra marks 100 years for elevator in Saskatchewan

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) recently announced plans to build a fourth state-of-the-art grain elevator in Canada. To be located located near St. Adolphe, Manitoba, the elevator is scheduled to open in early 2016.

The facility will feature a 134-car loop track, with access to CN and BNSF Railway Co. lines. The trackage will provide the board "excellent rail access" to its Thunder Bay, Ontario, terminal, as well as western ports and destinations in the United States and Mexico, CWB officials said in a press release.

"CWB's rapidly growing network of grain-handling facilities continues to attract considerable interest by farmers, potential investors and the public," said CWB President and Chief Executive Officer Ian White. "As we continue to build a strong and integrated position in the grain handling supply chain, we create a stronger value proposition for farmers that choose CWB as their marketing partner."

The board also is building rail-served grain elevators in Colonsay and Pasqua, Saskatchewan, and Bloom, Manitoba. The Colonsay and Bloom facilities are scheduled to open in time for the 2015 harvest, and the Pasqua facility is slated to open in January 2016.

Meanwhile, Viterra Inc. on Wednesday marked the 100th anniversary of its grain elevator in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

The facility opened in 1914 as a Canadian government-owned grain elevator and was purchased by Viterra in 1989. Today, the facility is one of the largest terminals in Viterra's network and is served by Canadian Pacific, with a capacity of 112 rail cars.

Over the past several years, Viterra has made several improvements at the elevator, including rail-car spot expansions.