Wanted: More entrepreneurs willing to open their wallets

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on February 22, 2018.

The loss of the Spitz plant in Bow Island is a blow to that town and, more generally the regional economy that for some time now has been pumping itself up as a destination for value-added agricultural production.

The story behind the sunflower seed company, which started 30 years ago as a better use for what was then bird seed, a fledgling production plant, and a lot of hard work over time, makes its loss even harder to swallow.

Yet, it’s gone after global food producer PepsiCo told 53 employees last week production would move to the United States, just two years after new investments in the aging facility.

It’s also 10 years after PepsiCo purchased it lock, stock and barrel from founder and operator, local couple Tom and Emmy Droog.

At that time, most Southeastern Albertans noted the sale with some pride considering that the local entity had gained the attention of one of the world’s largest companies.

The thinking on some level was likely, ‘Wow, we’ve made it.’

The new realization must be that what’s good in the boardroom or for shareholders is not necessarily good for the communities in which they operate.

What’s behind the move out of Bow Island is mostly speculation at this point, and PepsiCo will likely never definitively say.

The only indication thus far from the company is that it wants to vastly expand the brand in the U.S. and need to move production closer to major U.S. markets as well as supplies of sunflower.

Many also point a worried finger to aggressive moves by the U.S. President Donald Trump to repatriate production of U.S.-based companies.

Others fall back to standing arguments about how it’s harder and more costly to do business in Alberta under a New Democratic government.

Everyone is concerned about the state and future of the local economy.

A much needed politics-proof remedy, however, is a few more entrepreneurs like young Tom and Emmy Droog, not handwringers who sit on their wallets complaining about how things aren’t as good as they used to be.

Local resources and local capital are not in short supply, but it appears that local gumption is lacking to build the next generation of local enterprises.

We continually hear that we are a greenhouse and specialty crop powerhouse, yet nobody in the area seems to be ahead of the curve, or even on the road, towards medical or recreational marijuana production.

Square that circle.

As for sunflowers, it appears Droogs’ secret ingredient for success was an ability to keep acres under contract.

For every acre of sunflower planted in the St. Mary’s Irrigation District last year, there were 45 acres in Manitoba, 400 in North Dakota and an entire section’s worth in South Dakota.

Soon, more land in the region will be needed to supply potatoes to proposed plants in Lethbridge.

There’s early hopes that some new industry can take the place left vacant by the Spitz departure.

Opportunities certainly exist for related but non-competitive industry to take over the facility, but it can be a long haul.

One need only look to the ADM Flour Mill in the heart of Medicine Hat for an example. Shuttered several years ago, the global food producer will certainly sit on the property rather that sell it to a competing miller.

Will PepsiCo repurpose the Bow Island facility?

If so, Bow Island and the region would cheer the move.

However, we can certainly do more than simply hope so.