Seed Plant Profile MANAGERS and staff of the Carmangay Seed Cleaning Plant, located about 60 km north of Lethbridge, count themselves lucky – they love their jobs. That may explain why turnover at the plant is rarer than a seed cleaning issue they can’t solve. Since they opened their doors in 1959, they’ve only had five general managers. The first held the position for two decades, and the current general manager, Rod Blenkin, has been on the job for 23 years. And as he nears retirement, his son Chris is taking the reins as plant manager. “My dad and I are a good team,” said Chris Blenkin. “He manages operations and employees and I focus on the bookwork as well as future expansion.” With 15 years of experience at the plant, Chris Blenkin is a relative rookie; but then, he’s only 34 years old, and he likes what he sees so far. Advantage: Alberta “Our plant is the ‘Alberta advantage’ in action. Other provinces have privately-run seed plants so they charge the customer more. As a co-operative, we are here to benefit the farmer and keep their costs as low as possible.” That has always been the goal of the Carmangay Seed Cleaning Plant, whether processing 150,000 bushels annually in 1995 or 600,000 in 2016. Today, the bulk of their business is cleaning cereals and pulses for farmers to re-plant the following year. Most of that business comes from word-of-mouth, thanks to clients who appreciate their knowledge. “We try and add value to a farm operation wherever we can. Our 40 years of combined experience gives us a unique viewpoint where we can clean just about anything from hemp to rice to safflower,” notes Blenkin. “We even get calls from farmers who aren’t in our area asking us to problem solve for them.” The Royal Treatment Not content to rest on their laurels, however, they are rapidly building the seed treatment part of the business. “It’s a key area of growth. We used to treat 6,000 to 12,000 bushels of grain per year and we now do around 70,000, all in April and May. We wanted to find a way of assisting farmers at seeding time, so we bought a mobile seed treater and went to work. Now we’re exploring ways of boosting those numbers even more,” says Blenkin. Working together sets the Carmangay Seed Cleaning Plant apart. Powered by Passion 22 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta can’t control the weather But with a Cash Advance from CCGA youcan control when to market your crop. More cash flow means less pressure to sell and more control to execute your marketing plan, allowing you to sell at the best time for the best price. With your Cash Advance needs all in one place, call 1-866-745-2256 or visit ccga.ca/cash. 45 commodities $ 100k interest free $ 400k blended interest rate below prime