Flax processing facility announced during CFS

Jun 22, 2022

A key announcement during Canada's Farm Show on Tuesday.

Prairie Clean Energy announced plans to build the world's first ever flax processing facility in Regina.

CEO Mark Cooper says they'll be buying flax straw within a 150 km radius and turning it into pellets.

"So we're actually leasing an existing facility, which is part of the attraction of this particular site. It's got rail access, great highway access, right here in the city. So it's close for our existing team and that means that we can get up to speed faster in terms of production. The actual cost to to start production is just over a million dollars and we'll be producing about 60,000 tons of pellets per year from this facility."

He says those pellets will be sold worldwide for as a biofuel.

"We have agreements to move flax pellets to Japan with our partner company Renova. And also to move flax pellets to Europe for a variety of companies that are now trying to make up for the significant deficit created by the war in Ukraine in terms of the biomass fuel."

Cooper says they hope to have the facility up and operational by September and will be buying flax straw this fall.

He notes while they are starting with a flax processing facility in Regina he's hoping to start similar plants in other areas in the future.

Prairie Clean Energy signed it's first official producer contract to buy flax straw during the announcement on Tuesday.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.