B.C. ag group seeking support for grain elevator upgrade

The North Pine Farmers Institute owns an elevator in Fort St. John

An ag industry group in British Columbia is looking for support for its grain elevator upgrade project.

The North Pine Farmers Institute (NPFI) has owned the last grain elevator in Fort St. John since 2009.

The organization purchased it for close to $800,000 and had to invest another $800,000 in repairs.

NPFI paid off the elevator’s mortgage in 2022.

The elevator is leased to Viterra, and in 2024 it handled about 100,000 tonnes of grain and oilseeds produced in the region.

But now it needs work to accommodate the high grain volumes to support area farmers.

“Any production that cannot be handled by our elevator must be trucked to other facilities many kilometres away,” Brian Johnston, secretary of the NPFI, said in a letter to the Peace River Regional District. “This increases costs to producers and puts additional strain on our roads.”

The construction includes additional storage to help the movement of grain to rail.

The NPFI estimates the planned upgrades will cost about $3.5 million.

The organization’s letter to the regional district asked it to support the project by writing its own letter to the BC Hydro Agricultural Compensation Fund.

The NPFI is hoping to receive a grant of $1 million it can put towards the grain elevator project.

At a regional meeting on March 20, local lawmakers voted unanimously in support of writing a letter of support for the institute and the project.

Farms.com has contacted the NPFI for comment on the upgrade project.