Farm, Grain, Mill, Fish
Federal Grain
1 picture · 1967
- Founded
- 1929 (merger of nine grain firms as Federal Grain Limited)
- Head office then
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
Federal Grain was a private prairie elevator company, formed in 1929 when nine Winnipeg grain firms merged. It bought further lines, amalgamated with Searle Grain and Alberta Pacific in 1967, and ran country elevators across the West plus terminals at the Lakehead and Vancouver.
By the late 1960s it was the largest privately owned grain company in Canada, moving prairie wheat from the country elevator to the Pacific and the lakes.
Why it mattered
By the late 1960s Federal was Canada's largest privately owned grain company, handling prairie wheat and other grains from country elevators to Pacific and Lakehead terminals. Its 1972 sale to the three prairie wheat pools ended most remaining private-line competition on the Prairies.
Now
In 1972 the three prairie wheat pools (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) bought the grain assets. The leftover corporation was renamed Federal Industries in 1973.
Still open
- Sale price: Manitoba Historical Society says $90 million; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan says $30 million. Not resolved; no figure used here.
- Exact count of elevators at the 1967 merger (sources give more than 1,150 or over 1,500).
Sources
The pictures
- Federal Grain 1967 — annual reportarchive.org/details/Fede2322_1967
References
- Manitoba Historical Society: Federal Grain Limited1929 merger, 1967 Searle amalgamation, 1972 sale of grain assets to three pools; remaining assets Federal Industries
- Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan: Federal Grain Ltd.independent confirmation of 1972 sale to the three Prairie Pools
- McGill Canadian Corporate Reports: Federal Grain Limitedcompany renamed Federal Industries Ltd., 1973
- Canadian Grain Commission, List of Licensed Elevators 1967–68 (archived)Federal Grain Limited listed at Winnipeg