Canadian feed mill closes doors

"Over the past several years the Sussex Co-op Feed Mill has not been able to maintain profitability while remaining competitive as the marketplace continues to diminish," he said.

 

The board of directors for Canada’s oldest co-op, the 169-year-old Sussex and Studholm Agricultural Society #21, recently passed a motion to end operations.

 

Management has been instructed to carry out the task of closing the mill by the end of this month.

 

Arsenault said with the closure, three jobs will be affected. Of them, two employees will have work in other Sussex Co-op operations while one person will be laid off.

 

For farmers looking to have their crops milled, they will have to face the higher transportation costs of trucking them elsewhere.

 

It was in autumn 2008 when there was a lot of hope and enthusiasm offered for the Sussex Feed Mill when it became certified to start producing organic feed.

 

"We were kind of ahead of the curve with that," Arsenault said, adding volumes, especially among commercial users, never picked up to increase the profitability of the mill.

 

Until Sussex started offering organic options, organic farmers had to pay more to buy feed from Ontario or Quebec, and grain growers had to send their crops way outside the region for processing.

 

The Sussex Feed Mill was built in 1988. Following its closure it will be used for storage.