The investment, it said, will provide additional capacity to supply food, feed, and energy customers.
LDC has operated its canola processing complex in Yorkton since 2009, employing 120 people today, and producing food grade canola oil and feed meal.
This industry-leading facility is strategically located in the country’s most productive agricultural zone, where canola is the dominant crop, and benefits from dual rail and good road infrastructure. The enlarged complex will create further operational synergies and enhance canola seed sourcing capabilities.
Construction of the additional canola crushing line is expected to begin later this year and will more than double the facility’s annual crush capacity to over 2 million metric tons upon completion.
Competitor projects in play
Cargill, Viterra and Richardson International have all announced projects over the past two years aimed at boosting their footprint in canola crushing in Saskatchewan.
However, Ceres announced in July 2022 that it was pausing its plan to build a canola processing facility in Northgate, Saskatchewan, citing a variety of factors, including but not limited to “inflationary pressures resulting in higher costs than initially projected and shifting macroeconomic conditions.”
Canadian farmers produce about 20 million tons of canola annually, according to data from the Canola Council. Saskatchewan producers account for about 11 million of that volume.
