True North Foods plant expansion draws energy from waste

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This article was published 13/11/2024 (387 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the help of $1.4 million from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s Agricultural Clean Technology Program, True North Foods cut the ribbon last week on a $14-million, 23,000-square-foot expansion in Carman.

For about 10 years, True North Foods has offered producers a made-in-Manitoba option for slaughtering Manitoba-raised beef.

It is the only federally certified beef slaughterhouse between Alberta and Ontario and the only one with Canadian ownership.

Calvin Vaags, a cattle farmer in the area, acquired the facility around 2011, then-called Plains Processors.

At the time, the plant was only provincially certified — which means production could only be sold in Manitoba — with the capacity to process only a few dozen head of cattle per week.

It’s now up to 700 to 800 per week, with the capability to process organic, halal, kosher and grass-fed beef. (For instance, Manitoba-based 8 Acres Farms processes its organic and grass-fed cattle at True North.)

“Our long-term plan was to get to 1,000 head per week on one shift. Now, in theory, with the expansion we should be able to get to 2,000 per week on two shifts,” Vaags said.

The operation has been growing steadily and Vaags credits his financial partners, Neptune Properties and the Vanderveen family, with a lot of support. However, the journey has not been easy.

“I probably never would have gone down this road if we knew how difficult it would be,” he said. “It’s still a major challenge. This is not a slam dunk.

“It is a tough business to get into, develop and stay in business — that’s why you have to look at innovative ways to find solutions to issues you may not be able to solve unless you adopt some of these newer things.”

For one, True North Foods has among the best traceability systems in the industry.

Phil Dunphy, director of finance at Neptune, said True North can scan a piece of beef and say which individual cow it came from, let alone which farm.

The latest expansion includes the first commercial installation of another made-in-Manitoba solution: Rapid Organic Converter (ROC) technology by local company Innovative NRG.

The technology developed and patented in Manitoba processes organic waste through a gassification process — it vaporizes the waste — and turns it into thermal energy True North Foods will use to heat the water it needs for its sanitation protocols.

Darrell Boyko, business development officer for Innovative NRG, said the company is excited to have True North Foods be its first commercial installation. (The company operates a waste elimination facility at its St. Eustache facility for third-party clients.)

Boyko said the technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions in three ways: True North Foods can reduce its use of fossil fuels to heat its facilities; it eliminates the carbon footprint of having to ship waste to a rendering plant or landfill; and it diverts the waste from a landfill where incineration creates more GHG.

Innovative NRG was the first recipient of a $1 million Manitoba Green Impact Bond in 2021. Boyko said the company is in discussions with several other provinces and organizations about upcoming installations.

The capital costs of the technology is such there would be a return on investment in less than five years, he added.

Matthew Atkinson, a cattle producer near Neepawa and president of Manitoba Beef Producers, said having an operation like True North Foods is a valuable option for cattle producers.

“All of those other destinations are a long way away,” he said. “Transporting live cattle there and the processed beef has always been expensive.”

The additional environmental feature of True North’s operation gives it another attractive element.

“It is a great thing anywhere in the value chain in the beef industry when folks are looking to improve on their sustainability, both financially and environmentally,” said Carson Callum, general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers. “I have to commend anyone in the beef value chain for trying to meet the goal our industry has to reduce our environmental footprint.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca