The Moose Jaw Co-op announced a major acquisition Friday, Prairie Plains Agro, an independent crop input and protection business based in Moose Jaw.
“It’s exciting news for the members of the Moose Jaw Co-op and the staff and we’re certainly excited for the Prairie Plains Agro team to be part of the Moose Jaw Co-op family,” said Moose Jaw Co-op general manager Geoff Anderson.
Anderson said he couldn’t reveal the sale price until the deal was finalized at least. If all conditions are met, the sale is expected to be finalized on March 1.
Prairie Plains Agro Ltd. was born in 2009 when Mark LaRoque, his wife Mary and business partner Lisa Martin launched the independent crop input retail business. They carry a range of products for producers, including fertilizer, seed, crop protection and agronomy services. The business also supports growers with crop input products and fertility planning.
“We’ve been serving producers in the Moose Jaw area for nearly a decade and we’ve developed some great relationships with them over the years,” said Mark LaRoque, founder and co-owner of Prairie Plains Agro in a release. “Knowing how committed Moose Jaw Co-op is to our community and its customers, we’re confident that it will continue building on those relationships to ensure that producers in this area get the service they need.”
Martin and Mark LaRoque will continue to be part of the operation on a contractual basis while a search is undertaken to find someone to manage the operation. Anderson said he expected between 8-10 employees will also make the transition after the purchase.
“What’s exciting about Prairie Plains Agro is that their business model aligns very well with the co-operatives,” Anderson said. “They’re very much a people-driven company. They want to ensure that their clients and members are always put first, which certainly aligns with our values and our vision with Moose Jaw Co-op. It’s a win-win.”
Moose Jaw Co-op’s acquisition will complement its existing Agro Centre, which currently offers small equipment, farm hardware, and bulk fuel to producers. In 2017, Federated Co-operatives Limited opened two new fertilizer terminals — including one in Hanley, Sask. — to make it easier and more efficient to deliver product to producers.
“The independent Ag retailers are finding that it’s a pretty uncertain environment right now. It’s a hard environment to compete in,” Anderson said. “The Co-op retailing system is a fairly large organization. We’re able to benefit from being part of our wholesaling group out of Saskatoon. We have fertilizer plants in Hanley and Brandon. We’re putting a lot of our focus over the last two years in crop supplies. It’s definitely a market that we see growing. There’s a lot of growth potential and we want to bring that total-value package to our members. This is a big piece for our co-operative so we can provide a total-value package to our producers in Moose Jaw trading area.”
The process of acquiring Prairie Plains Agro began months before Anderson took over as general manager of the Moose Jaw Co-Op Association Ltd. two weeks ago.
“With the amount of work that has gone into this from Prairie Plains Agro’s side, plus Moose Jaw and the support we’ve received from Federated Co-op, there’s no way we could get that done in two weeks,” Anderson said.
