It’s the second major economic investment announcement for St. Thomas in the past week. Sollio Agriculture advised Tuesday they are investing over $20 million to build and operate a fertilizer coating plant in the city. It will be located on the site of sister operation Agrico Canada, in the city’s east end.
Interim general manager David Brand says at full capacity, the plant will produce around 100,000 tonnes annually of controlled-release fertilizers.
Last week, Elgin Centre announced a $16 million, 95-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites will be constructed at the west end of the shopping centre.
The coating plant is to be operational next August and Brand stresses this is a long-term investment in the city.
He adds the plant will initially employ about six workers and will serve growers in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States with controlled release fertilizers.
Construction of the fertilizer coating plant, to begin this fall, is designed to offer economic and environmental benefits to Canadian farmers. It will bring previously unavailable controlled-release fertilizers to this market. Brand says adoption of these fertilizers into commodity agriculture is a win for the environment.
Brand adds, traditionally, controlled-release fertilizers have been difficult to access for crops such as corn, wheat, canola or potatoes.
A pre-plant application of urea coated with Purcell’s new technology significantly increased corn yield and profitability, advised Sollio Agriculture crop management researcher Lucie Kablan.
