Canada’s biggest grain handler has bought its way further into the crop input business in Manitoba’s southern Red River Valley.
Viterra announced Wednesday it has bought “certain assets” of Bestland Agro, a “full-service” retailer of crop inputs, supplies and ag services at Brunkild, about 40 km southwest of Winnipeg.
Regina-based Viterra didn’t disclose the price tag for the deal, which also includes two blending plants for bulk and liquid fertilizer, along with storage and warehousing capacity.
The buyer said it will offer its proprietary seed varieties, its line of private-label crop protection products, equipment and agronomic and financial services.
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The dealership’s local customers will still have access to fertilizer blending and application services, custom spraying services and application equipment rentals, Viterra said.
Bestland, which on its site bills itself as a “progressive independent retailer of crop input supplies and services,” has also offered aerial application services, trucking, soil testing, agronomy services, hail insurance and ag equipment lubricants.
Viterra didn’t specify whether the deal includes the services of Bestland’s staff, such as its president, Brunkild-based spray pilot Matt Bestland.
However, Viterra noted it has a completed deal in place for aerial application services in the area through an exclusive contract with another company, Morse Bros. Ltd. at Starbuck, about 20 km north of Brunkild.
The grain firm said it also has a “conditional agreement” in place to buy “certain assets” of Morse Bros., which along with its aerial business offers “full-service” retail ag inputs and services. Viterra said it expects to close that deal by the end of May at the latest.
Bestland Agro and the Morse Bros. operations would then be Viterra’s 260th and 261st retail sites in Western Canada.
“Our expansion in southern Manitoba further develops our retail network across Western Canada, utilizing our footprint to lead the industry in providing new services and programs to customers that more closely match their needs,” Doug Wonnacott, Viterra’s senior vice-president for agri-products, said in Wednesday’s release.
