Shur-Gain celebrates 75th anniversary

Jul. 18, 2012, Burford, ON – A crowd of 800 employees, retired employees, dealer owners and operators, suppliers, farmers and dignitaries from five countries and three continents came together to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Shur-Gain on July 11 at Nutreco Canada’s research farm in Burford.

Shur-Gain was founded in 1937 as part of Canada Packers Ltd and is the largest and one of the oldest suppliers of livestock and poultry feed to Canadian farmers. Today, it is an integral part of Nutreco Canada Inc., Canada’s leading animal nutrition company.

Greeting attendees from across Canada, the United States, Europe and South America, Jerry Vergeer, Chief Operating Officer of Animal Nutrition for Nutreco, described the anniversary as a “milestone event”. He added that the research farm was the logical place to host the celebration given that it is the largest corporately-owned facility of its kind in Canada. Said Vergeer, “Research and innovation has been the foundation of Shur-Gain for its 75 year history.”

The farm is certified by both the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and along with the company’s seven other research centres, houses the company’s global research program.

Guests toured through the farm’s dairy, swine, laying hen and broiler chicken research barns throughout the afternoon, hearing from many of the company’s leading researchers. Kevin Weppler, Vice President, Central and West Regions, said that the research farm epitomizes the commitment of Shur-Gain to quality feed products. “Nothing goes out to our customers until it’s been tested here and proven that it works. That gives us total confidence in saying that if it works here, it will work for you.”

Wout Dekker, Chief Executive Officer for Nutreco, told the audience that Nutreco’s name was formed from the words “Nutrition, Economy and Ecology” and said that Shur-Gain’s focus in all three of these areas will play a critical role in helping to feed a growing world population. Said Dekker, “I’m an optimist and I’m convinced we can feed nine billion people. Canada will play an instrumental role in that.” Dekker challenged guests to continue to “work on making our industry more sustainable”, explaining that Canada has far more land and available water supply, per capita, than other leading agricultural countries like the United States , Brazil and China. What that means, he said, is that Canada has both great opportunities and great responsibilities in doing its part to meet this growing demand. Attendees also had an opportunity to visit a specially-prepared exhibit of memorabilia from the last seventy-five years. This was followed by a barbecue dinner featuring Canadian beef, pork, chicken, eggs and milk.

About Nutreco Canada

Nutreco Canada is a leading animal nutrition company that invests in research, development and technology application to deliver superior results for producers. Its brands, Shur-Gain and Landmark Feeds, offer a wide range of livestock and poultry nutrition and health solutions.