ITUNA — Grain Millers Canada marked 25 years in Canada Monday by paying tribute to the farmers who helped build the company, hosting a producer appreciation supper for roughly 200 guests at the Ituna Arena.
The evening featured a community-catered meal, door prizes and speeches from industry leaders and elected officials, all centred on recognizing the growers who supply the Yorkton-based oat processor.
“Honestly, without the farmers there's no Grain Millers,” said Scott Shiels, Grain Millers Canada's grain procurement manager. “We wanted to celebrate with them tonight.”
Company officials said the anniversary was an opportunity to recognize the partnerships that have driven the company's growth since it established operations in Canada in 2001.
“Twenty-five years is quite a milestone,” Grain Millers Canada president Terry Tyson told the crowd. “When you're living through it and working through it on a day-to-day basis, you don't often take time to step back and think about all that journey.”
Tyson, who joined Grain Millers in 2001, said the company has grown from sourcing about two million bushels of oats annually in its early years to more than 20 million today.
“When I first came to Yorkton, Grain Millers was not in any way known really north of the border,” he said. “The goal was to establish relationships and become a direct purchase option for producers.”
He said that growth was built on trust and long-term relationships with farmers across the Prairies.
“All of that change and all of that growth came along with you,” Tyson said. “We established relationships with you. We always felt we had a burden of proof to show you that you could place your trust in us.”
The company chose Ituna because of its deep ties to Saskatchewan's oat industry. The town is recognized as the birthplace of the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA), and Grain Millers has worked with producers in the area since its earliest days.
Shiels said the arena was also a natural choice because Grain Millers was a major contributor to the construction of the facility.
“We thought, what better place to do it than the Ituna Arena,” he said.
The event also highlighted the hospitality of the host community. The meal was prepared by a local church group, while volunteers grew oats in jars for table centrepieces.
“You see that all the time in small towns,” said Shiels. “It's super appreciated. It really made us feel pretty special when we walked in here this afternoon.”
For longtime area producer Jack Shymko, the event reflected relationships that have stretched back decades.
Shymko, whose family farm near Jasmin grows oats, barley, wheat, flax, peas and canola, said Grain Millers has long maintained strong ties to the community.
“They've been very good to us,” he said.
Shymko was also among the producers involved in discussions that led to the creation of POGA in the late 1990s.
“There was no voice representing oats at that time,” he said. “A group of us got together and decided we're going to see if there's enough interest in a producer organization for oats.”
What began with a meeting of about 160 people in Ituna eventually grew into the producer organization now known as POGA.
Grain Millers Ltd. president and chief executive officer Todd Slohlmeyer travelled from the United States for the event and acknowledged challenges facing producers, including excess moisture and uncertainty surrounding international trade.
Flying into Yorkton, he said the amount of standing water visible from the air underscored the difficulties many farmers are facing this season.
“My empathy, my sympathy for all of you as you deal with the circumstances,” Slohlmeyer told producers. “We're here to partner with you. We understand the circumstances and hope that you continue to have success in your crop development this year.”
Slohlmeyer also stressed the importance of maintaining tariff-free trade between Canada and the United States.
“We are grateful for the USMCA,” he said. “We're grateful for the agreement that's in place between our countries so that we can continue to have great trade across the borders.”
Federal and provincial politicians also attended the celebration.
Member of Parliament Andrew Scheer said the success of producers, processors and rural communities is closely connected.
“The beautiful thing about agriculture is that one person's success really sets up another one,” Scheer said. “When growers succeed, the millers succeed. Everybody along the way succeeds as well.”
Travis Keisig, MLA for Last Mountain-Touchwood, described Grain Millers as an example of the value-added opportunities that strengthen Saskatchewan's economy.
“Anytime you can take a raw agricultural product and add value to it, it creates value for the entire provincial economy,” Keisig said.
The company's contributions to the organic sector were also recognized by SaskOrganics executive director Donna Brix, who credited Grain Millers with helping advance organic agriculture across the Prairies.
“The organic sector in the province and the Prairies would not be where it is today without the incredible support of Grain Millers,” Brix said. “Many organic producers have found Grain Millers to be a reliable and trusted buyer and processor of their grain.”
As producers, employees and community members gathered beneath the arena roof Monday evening, the theme that emerged repeatedly was partnership, between growers, processors and the communities that depend on both.
For Tyson, the anniversary was ultimately about recognizing the farmers who made the company's growth possible.
“The words you deserve to hear from us the most are thank you,” he said. “Thank you so much for your support and your trust and for your ongoing business. We look forward to the next 25.”
