Brandon University (BU) has joined the Westman Opportunities Leadership Group (WOLG) in its efforts to bring a soybean processing plant to Manitoba. Volunteers in WOLG are working together to make the case that Westman would be the ideal location for a world scale soybean crushing facility.
President of BU Dr. Gervan Fearon is making certain the opportunity is given a voice.
“Among the core mandates as outlined in our Academic Plan is to work with communities to act as a catalyst for growth and innovation,” said Dr. Fearon, who is also Vice-Chancellor of BU. “The diverse group of individuals and organizations who comprise Westman Opportunities Leadership Group contribute a vision that will be of great benefit to the region and all of Manitoba. We are happy to contribute our expertise and research capacity for a project that will help to stimulate growth and development for our communities.”
Local involvement
Early in 2017, funding and representation with WOLG came from the Town of Virden, and RMs of Pipestone, Sifton and Oak Lake, with each municipal entity paying $6,250 toward the $25,000 fund for the feasibility study. However, funding the entire feasibility study may cost several hundred thousand dollars – the amount is an unknown at this time.
Other initial funding came from Brandon Economic Development Corporation; WOLG also includes leaders from agriculture, industry and other business sectors, as well as community and economic development representatives.
From the outset, the Leadership Group is trademarked with cooperation.
Some of BU’s key leadership are donating time and joining WOLG and the feasibility study. Dr. William Ashton, Director of the Rural Development Institute explains the central role the university will play. “There will be four of us giving time and importance to this initiative.”
Scott Lamont, Vice-President (Administration and Finance) has expressed interest in participating in the leadership group (WOLG).
Dr. Steven Robinson as Vice-President (Academic & Provost) will also join WOLG. “He’s going to be working with the delivery team, seeking out funding, as well as looking at the content and the requirements for what research has to be done,” explained Ashton.
As the director of RDI, Ashton explains, “I’ll be playing a role in making sure the research is coordinated, that it follows university policy in terms of ethics requirements and is brought back in a manner that’s both workable for the group as well as for the progression of this opportunity.
Information in a press release states that a feasibility study commissioned by Soy 20/20, and ensuing groundwork and group discussions facilitated by WOLG and Economic Development Brandon, have shown that Manitoba is capable of sustaining a world-class soybean processing plant. In 2016 more than 1.7-million acres of soybeans were planted in Manitoba, with the crop expanding rapidly in western Manitoba.
Ray Redfern, Chair of WOLG, said that a significant opportunity is available, but the region must act quickly and utilize its resources in a united fashion to take advantage.
“We at the Leadership Group are extremely pleased that Brandon University is joining us to pursue the attraction of a soybean processing facility,” Redfern said. “The University brings a network of experts to the process that will help validate the opportunity. This agreement provides interested companies with a clear signal of the importance of agriculture to Manitoba and the commitment that is emerging to support the growth of the soybean sector.”
BU is strategically placed to assist the opportunity at hand. The RDI department of the university has been involved in several projects to track innovation and opportunities for growth in rural Manitoba. The Faculty of Science also has an established relationship with the Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers, with Dr. Bryan Cassone currently working on a three-year project to spot early indications of soybean disease.
Brandon University’s Rural Development program was initiated nearly 30 years ago; the WOLG project will make very practical demands of the RDI, and is expected to include student research.
“We have conducted a great deal of research at RDI that provides rural Manitoba stakeholders with valuable information that is being used to drive growth throughout rural Manitoba,” said Dr. Ashton.“We have already been in contact with many business and community organizations that would welcome and benefit from a project of this magnitude being located in the region. We are looking forward to cultivating and expanding our partnerships to generate and share knowledge that will lead to informed strategies and continued progress in Manitoba.”
With the credibility of university research, their due diligence and administration, Redfern is excited about the joint venture, saying “The whole administration [of WOLG] moves from, what we’ll call a fledgling organization, to one that’s documented and experienced.”
Ashton points out a recent trend in southwestern Manitoba agriculture is moving away from canola and toward soybean production. Quantifying the volume to be processed, “both now and in the future” is part of the basic research.
“It’s one thing to say, it’s another thing to prove it,” says Ashton. “What kind of demand is going to be there for the volume of output? What does the waste stream look like, what’s its chemical composition and nutritional composition? How might that connect directly to the hog industry?”
Asked if it would mean increasing hog production in Manitoba as a match, or a prerequisite, for the economics of a soy crushing plant, Ashton simply said the plant could certainly provide economy for current hog production in Manitoba.
Redfern looks forward to the study’s results saying, “In fact, we are confident that if we do the study properly, the broader benefits of one area verses another will come out again. If we’re right with the things we think...we’ll be validated that if [a plant] comes at all, then it will come to Western Manitoba.”
However, as long as the plant is built in Manitoba, he says, “We’ll still get the secondary benefits that accrue to having a crushing plant in Manitoba, and all the benefits that we think are still going to accrue to the producers, whether it’s in Portage la Prairie, or Winnipeg, or Virden, or Brandon - any of those locations that are, presumably, going to have enough infrastructure to attract it.”
Dr. Ashton says WOLG has given the university a two-year window to complete the study and turn working assumptions into facts, figures and clear projections.
