Hutterite colonies can help advance value-added processing

Hutterite colonies are involved in most facets of primary agriculture.

Sunnydale Colony, also known as SDC Farms, near Perdue, Sask., is taking production to the next stage with a significant level of value-added processing.

Crops, beef, hogs, dairy, poultry, vegetables — many colonies have all or most of these enterprises, and some of them have also established various sideline businesses.

Until now, however, it’s been relatively rare to see colonies get into value-added processing in a major way.

A notice from the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association about its semi-annual meeting included an agenda item about a new federally inspected livestock processing facility being established in the province.

While the facility at SDC Farms has been under construction for several years, this is the first widespread news of the multi-species operation.

There hasn’t been a federally inspected beef slaughter plant in Saskatchewan for many years.

The two federally inspected hog slaughter plants in Moose Jaw, one for market hogs and the other for sows, have limited capacity.

No federally inspected plants have ever existed in the province for bison or sheep.

The new SDC facility plans to process all four species when it opens sometime this summer.

SDC Farms, through Sunnydale Meats, has long processed and sold meat within the province. However, only with a federally inspected facility can the meat be sold outside of Saskatchewan and outside of the country.

Establishing a plant that meets Canadian Food Inspection Agency specifications is no easy task.

Ednali Fertuck-Zehavi, the chief commercialization officer for SDC Farms, says the plant is designed to initially handle 100 cattle, 200 hogs, 50 bison or 200 sheep in a day.

This isn’t huge compared to the major processors in neighbouring provinces, but it should be a boost to the livestock sector in Saskatchewan. Organizers want to start slowly as they develop markets.

While the plant plans to buy livestock and market the meat, it will also do custom slaughtering, allowing livestock operations to market their own finished products.

To run the plant, external employees will be hired, 40 to 50 as a first stage.

Fertuck-Zahavi says as she travels the world, she finds a lot of demand for specialized beef products from Canada.

Affirmative fraction

While discussing the facility with one of the head people at SDC Farms and then with Fertuck-Zehavi, I also learned that the farm is already operating a pea fractionation plant. With 35 to 40 employees, it’s a collaboration with Heidi Dutton, who is well known in the special crop industry. They have a second plant just outside of Calgary.

Interestingly, the Perdue facility is not very far from the large Ingredion facility that’s now closed at Vanscoy, Sask.

Launched with lots of fanfare by investor/movie producer James Cameron and his wife, Suzi Amis Cameron, as Verdient Foods in 2017, Ingredion later became the sole owner.

Ingredion, an Illinois-based food ingredient company, announced the closure of the facility in January 2025, and no new ownership has been announced.

Star power and extensive media coverage are apparently not a replacement for a solid business plan.

SDC Farms also has a greenhouse facility on the drawing board.

With so many external employees, their initiatives should be a major boost to the economy in that part of rural Saskatchewan.

Hutterite colonies have long been known as progressive, diversified farms. With their capital and work ethic and with some outside help, perhaps more of them can become major drivers for rural economic development and value-added processing.

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