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Sunnydale Colony Farms (SDC Farms) in the Perdue area, about 65 kilometres west of Saskatoon, is financing the project which will provide much needed additional slaughter capacity in Saskatchewan.
It will be a federally inspected facility that will allow the meat to be sold in other provinces or other countries. Meat processed at a provincially inspected facility can only be sold inside Saskatchewan borders.
The plant will be flexible in that it will be able to slaughter different species on specific days. Initial plans are 200 hogs or sheep per day, 100 beef cattle and about 50 bison.
“We do have further plans for the future, but want to start slow and understand the markets, creating pathways to market and sell the meat, mostly abroad,” said Ednali Fertuck-Zehavi, chief commercialization officer for SDC Farms. “We do see the amazing potential of Saskatchewan that right now is untapped.”
The plan is to focus on custom cuts for individual customers as opposed to the large packing plants in Alberta (JBS at Brooks and Cargill at High River) that sell on a much larger scale in the commercial market. Fertuck-Zehavi says livestock producers will be able to sell the animals to SDC Farms or have them processed and maintain ownership of the meat. She believes there is an opportunity for rural Saskatchewan to grow together and not just one business at a time trying to find its way.
SDC Farms is already involved in meat processing through Sunnydale Meats, a provincially-inspected operation. The federally-inspected plant will employ people not connected with the Hutterite Colony. The initial estimate is 40 to 50 employees with the hiring beginning closer to the opening. The estimated opening date is sometime this summer.
“I can’t commit to any specific date,” said Fertuck-Zehavi. “We still need to go through the regulations . . . and some of the facilities still need to be built. There is also an automated system that is using AI (artificial intelligence) to make the traceability better, make the food security a lot better and all the operations smoother.”
Fertuck-Zehavi will update cattle producers on the project during the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association semi-annual general meeting on February 27th at the Dakota Dunes Resort.
“I wanted to speak there, not just about this facility specifically, but about the untapped potential that we have as a province. How do we get Saskatchewan beef to the world?” she said.
Drake Meats is also building a federally-inspected meat processing plant in Saskatoon’s north end, but it will use meat that has already been slaughtered. It is slated to begin operations later this year.
(files from SaskAgtoday.com/Kevin Hursh)
