SUDBURY—A repayable funding investment of $600,000 is assisting Sharpe Farm Supplies to construct the first recent commercial grain handling facility on Manitoulin Island. The project includes the construction of a warehouse and an above-ground truck scale, the purchase and installation of grain fertilizer storage, grain bins and a grain dryer, fabricating grain conveyors and necessary landscaping.
“We started delivering feed to the Island in 2016, and my brothers (Michael and John) and I have always liked Manitoulin and always felt there was an opportunity to fill a gap in the servers available to farmers on the island compared to the type of service we provide in the south,” said Paul Sharpe. “And the people on the Island are awesome.”
Mr. Sharpe explained there are three parts of the project, which will all take place on property the business owns on Hartley Road just outside of Spring Bay. “There are three components to the project. A feed store is under construction, with all the framing up. The building is expected to be complete in January.”
“We will be providing feed and suppliers for recreational and commercial or hobbyist farmers for cattle, chickens, birds, horses, dogs and more,” Mr. Sharpe told the Expositor. “We already have similar businesses in Espanola and Sudbury, and the Island location will be our third in the North.” Sharpe Farm Supplies, which is based in Guelph, has 14 locations across Ontario.
“The second component of the project is on the crop side to help farmers grow their crops, providing seed and fertilizer in bulk and bags as well as liquid fertilizer from our agronomy centre,” said Mr. Sharpe. “This is in addition to our ability to custom apply the products we sell,” said Mr. Sharpe. “We will be the second location on Manitoulin, with the Agromart in Gordon being the first. This will be going up in September.”
“The third and last part of the project is for a grain elevator to be in place on the same property,” said Mr. Sharpe. “This will be the first commercial grain elevator on Manitoulin. We own two in southern Ontario, and it will feature a 90-foot grain truck scale for weighing trucks and trailers. This will be part of phase two of the project in 2024, with another cluster of bins added on to the five grain bins that have built in 2023. We have 1,400 tons of grain capacity built this year, with more planned in 2024.”
“We have already had farmers deliver wheat, canola and soy to us, and have commitments to receive oats, barley, canola and soybeans yet this fall,” continued Mr. Sharpe. “All of this will allow local farmers to expand their crop farm if they are looking to do so.”
Mr. Sharpe said, “we will be farming a few acres of our own as well.”
Mr. Sharpe “the whole idea of this project is to support the local farming community, and with this project all the work that has been done like excavation work and septic have all been carried out by local tradespeople. We want to be part of the community and contribute locally.”
Completion of all three components of the project will be complete by this time next year, added Mr. Sharpe.
The FedNor loan being provided to Sharpe Farm Supplies of $600,000 was announced last week by The Honourable Patty Hajdu, minister of indigenous service and minister responsible for FedNor. She announced FedNor investments totalling $6,018,795 in support of 13 different initiatives across Northern Ontario. Minister Hajdu was joined in the announcement in Sudbury August 30 by members of parliament Viviane Lapointe, Marcus Powlowski, Marc G. Serré and Terry Sheehan.
“These are concrete investments in key sectors for our regional economy,” said Minister Hajdu. “This will help local businesses innovate, grow, and create a number of good-paying jobs for families In Northern Ontario for years to come. We have a plan to grow an economy that works for everyone in Northern Ontario and helps people pay their bills.”
