Grand opening planned for Delisle flax processing facility

Grain Millers wants to put flax into more Saskatchewan crop rotations.

Flax area in our province has dropped substantially over the past couple of decades, but there is still demand for flaxseed from food processing companies.

It has been reported that Grain Millers invested over $30 million in establishing a modern flax processing facility at Delisle, about 45 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon. 

It has been in operation since the beginning of the year, and a grand opening is set for Wednesday.

"We really think we can bring flax back to being one of the strong crops on the prairies," said Scott Shiels, grain procurement manager for Grain Millers. 

"The newer varieties are a little nicer to grow, and with announcements like recently here out of Weyburn, there's going to be a new flax straw processing facility opening down there.That's been a concern of a lot of producers, is what do we do with our straw? Residue management can be a real dog with flax, but if you get some opportunities like that coming up, just one more piece of the puzzle." he added.

Grain Millers is a Minnesota-based company and is best known in Saskatchewan for its oat processing plant in Yorkton.

The company has a flax processing plant in Wisconsin, but the one in Delisle is more modern.