MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA — Sollio Agriculture, a Canadian firm specializing in marketing farm inputs and value-added agronomy services, has announced that its Ontario Grain LP partnership will close six operating elevators and exit the grain market in Ontario.

In a Sept. 20 statement, Sollio said Ontario Grain will initiate a sale process for the elevators in Florence, Staples, Saint-Thomas, Princeton, Wallaceburg and Palmerston. It plans to continue serving clients during the 2022 harvest season at a reduced capacity as it winds down its operations.

Sollio Agriculture (formerly La Coop fédérée) is a majority shareholder in the Ontario Grain partnership. It had acquired the assets in 2018 as part of the organization’s broader national growth strategy, however, the company said financial challenges in the grain sector have made the continuation of Ontario Grain unsustainable. 

“The extraordinary events of the past two years causing global economic disruption led to unexpected, significant business challenges and a volatile commodity market,” said Casper Kaastra, chief executive officer of Sollio Agriculture. “Ontario Grain made this difficult but necessary decision after an exhaustive analysis of all available options.”

Based in Montreal, Quebec, Sollio Agriculture is the agribusiness division of Sollio Cooperative Group, a Canadian agriculture industry leader that recorded $2.772 billion in sales in 2021.