Received this press release in my gmail today… good news for the port…
Richardson International Limited is pleased to announce that it has successfully loaded a vessel of wheat in the Port of Churchill. The MV New Legend Pearl was Richardson’s first wheat vessel to be loaded and shipped out of the Northern Manitoba port following the enactment of the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act.
The vessel set out on route to Colombia on Saturday, August 25 with 27,500 metric tonnes of No. 2 Canadian Western Red Spring wheat originating from Richardson Pioneer elevators in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
“Recent changes to Western Canadian grain marketing have opened up new opportunities in the industry, and have made the Port of Churchill more accessible to us,” says Terry James, Vice-President, Export Marketing. “Being headquartered in Manitoba, we are pleased to have quickly identified opportunities to make use of Manitoba’s port in the new grain marketing environment.”
Richardson has a longstanding connection to the Port of Churchill, having shipped the first cargo of wheat from the Port on October 11, 1929, when the Engava set course for Liverpool, England with a shipment of Manitoba wheat. Further shipments of various grains and oilseeds out of Churchill are being planned by Richardson for the remainder of the shipping season.
Richardson International is Canada’s largest, privately owned agribusiness and has served farmers across the country for 155 years. Based in Winnipeg, Richardson has over 1,700 employees across Canada and is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian grown grains and oilseeds. ‘
Well, there you go… life after the Canadian Wheat Board begins in Churchill… After a bit of a late start this year, shipping season will run full-steam at the port until the end of October (I believe the last ship was loaded on Halloween last year). As the season progresses, so does over-time for the many workers at the port – making it one of the better seasonal employment options in Churchill… as long as you don’t mind grain dust.
(I actually emailed Richardson’s to ask if the ship was actually called the Ungava… but it turns out that if was spelled Engava – at least, according to the original bag tags from the ship!)
