A Crush On Soybeans
By Ritchie Gage

WINKLER , Manitoba - Martin Harder sees business opportunities where others see only risk. His entrepreneurial mindset came later in life but it has paid off handsomely in several accomplishments.

At 57, Mr. Harder is one of the principals behind Manitobas first soybean crushing plant just outside of Winkler. It may not seem a giant accomplishment to some but it is, in its own way because it started from scratch in 2003 and was built to fill a need.

The question of why it wasnt built before then, illustrates one retrospective rule of business. Usually nothing like this project gets done until the right people come along to do it.

Mr. Harder and his individual backers were the right people. The majority are from the Pembina Valley area that grows and consumes the product produced by the plant.

The 20 shareholders put up a combined $3.1 million and, as a result, of their confidence, Mr. Harder was able to create Jordan Mill Inc., which produces protein-rich soy meal and oil for animal feed.

Says Mr. Harder, Before we built the plant, we were shipping soybeans to the US at around $18-$19 per tonne freight cost. The crop was crushed in the US and shipped back to Manitoba at an additional $25 per tonne as a finished product. There was about $40 in transportation costs alone involved in that process. Now we have a plant to do our own processing and its a good thing because shipping costs have tripled since the plant was built.

Mr. Harders previous experiences in the agriculture field have contributed to a practical mans view of enterprise. My background is farming. Thats a risk. I farmed with my father in the Austin area in 1970, but it was not viable so I moved on. I had bills owing. There were opportunities to walk away but I paid back everyone over time. This speaks to my values.

Payback time took him almost five years working for a large poultry operation and then, he was fortunate in landing another salaried job working for Cargill Canada, one of the worlds largest diverse grain merchants.

Slowly over a period of 20 years he was educated on the job and promoted through the ranks until he joined management on the grain handling side Cargill is a solid company and I learned how to be a good grain trader and got an excellent education in business overall, he says.

Over the years he came to know some of Manitobas most powerful producer groups such as the Hutterian brotherhood which has grown collectively during decades to become a major force in farming in the Prairie Provinces Then, after building a career and a solid job he left the comfortable position with Cargill to start his own company Delmar Commodities. The company started as grain brokage firm but quickly developed into a full grain business, including elevators at four location and is an agent of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Mr. Harder drew on his talent of dealing with farmers to grow the business. Last year Del Mar grossed about $30 million sales, a Manitoba business success story in itself and a credit to Mr. Harders work ethic and business acumen. Yet, it is not for Delmar that Mr. Harder is being recognized. It is the new company, Jordan Mills Inc., which gained at the top of MANITOBA BUSINESS Magazines 20 Annual 50 Fastest-Growing Companies List for 2007. The listing favors smaller companies in their early stages.

The company has grown from a first year earnings of $74,042 to $1,512,988 in its third year for a percentage increase of 2,100 per cent, topping the list.

To meet market current demand the plant operates 24 hours a day, five days a week employing seven workers.

Mr. Harder says because soybean meal is used as a high protein feed supplement for animals, its quality must satisfy animal nutritionists at large feed suppliers to retain them as clients. And the supply of soybeans has to be grown within a reasonable distance from the plant and in the right quantity.

In a good year Manitoba farmers produce about 300,000 acres of soybeans and in a bad year, about 30,000 acres. With the average around 100,000 acres there is has been enough for the plant. The crop is resilient and can grow in either dry or wet weather Jordan Mills current capacity is 30,000 should produce enough supply to operate the plant at capacity.

According to Mr. Harder, Jordan Mill lives or dies on the processing side. The extra soybeans that Delmar buys from producers and not used by plant is sold in the US providing a strong income for Del Mar.

Says Mr. Harder, It made sense to build a plant in the Pembina Valley because this is where the product is grown and consumed.

Jordan Mills is as a cold press soy crushing plant which means there are no chemicals used in the process, only pressure, so it has been tagged green for its environmentally friendly process.

Jordan Mills buys all its soybeans from local producers through its sister company, Del Mar Commodities, selling the finished product in Manitoba.

The company moved forward this past year in hiring marketing manager Mark Jorgenson who moved to Winkler from southern Ontario to take the job.

Mr. Harder says, Marks job is to keep the plant supplied with soybeans and to market of all the oil and meal.

Mr. Harders son Darryl, 37, works in both Delmar and Jordan Mills in office management.

While the construction of the mill and the development of the market seemed straightforward, there was, however, like any business, a need to refine a number of things in the process. As well, the nemesis of all farmers, the weather, was a constant factor.

To ensure success, the new companys major business challenge was to break into the market against large America suppliers. In order to do that, the quality of the product had to be as good if not better. Its quality had to be demonstrated as consistent.

The crop variety itself, which affected the percentage of protein in the meal was also a factor, and the plant worked with producers in order to have them all growing the same variety. Mr. Harder says. In the beginning we had to deal with inconsistency of oil and protein. We were getting soy meal with a range of 12 per cent to six per cent oil in it and a range from 38 per cent to 44 per cent protein content.

The challenge was to guarantee consistency to our clients.

If you dont make the grade, you would be making the worst product and that would wipe you out, he said.

In an industry where eating well means healthy animals, supplements are a key ingredient and the product standards bar is high and must be met.

Mr. Harder says, it was a learning curve and we had to gain the confidence of the people we were supplying that our product was consistent. Weve done that so our product is 100 per cent natural.

As for the future, Mr. Harder say refining the current synergies between the two companies has meant the success of both companies. As for Mr. Harder, he shown leadership and is an example for others of what is possible in business. And for that demonstration for other qualities, he is the newly elected Mayor of City of Winkler.

Mr. Harder concludes, I would say that I have my hand full for the moment.

ices due to a greater portion of this commodity being directed to ethanol product, it is anticipated that poultry feed costs will increase, impacting costs at the retail counter in 2007.