Shifting Economics

FTLComm - Tisdale - Saturday, January 26, 2002

At noon today these two trucks loaded with the huge alfalfa dehydration drier and its related equipment rumbled through Tisdale on its way to some other location were the economics of processing alfalfa makes economic sense. The almost total collapse of the Asian economies resulted in a drastic reduction in demand for pellet alfalfa. Parkland Alfalfa ended its operations in the summer of 2000 with a smaller operator also shutting down leaving only Tisdale Alfalfa, Arborfield and Hudson Bay plants still in business. Parkland Alfalfa is in the process of changing from alfalfa processor to a grain terminal and the equipment seen here is likely from Parkland and on its way to some other location. Through the last four decades this particular industry has migrated several times from various locations in the United States and Canada as the margin for profit with the product depends so much on climate, the cost of energy and market viability.