University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Finding Aid - Agricore United fonds (MSS 268) Generated by Access to Memory (AtoM) 2.4.0 Printed: January 22, 2018 Language of description: English University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections 330 Elizabeth Dafoe Library Winnipeg Manitoba Canada R3T 2N2 Telephone: 204-474-9986 Fax: 204-474-7913 Email: [email protected] http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/archives/ http://umlarchives.lib.umanitoba.ca/index.php/agricore-united-fonds Agricore United fonds Table of contents Summary information ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative history / Biographical sketch .................................................................................................. 3 Scope and content ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Notes ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Access points ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Series descriptions ........................................................................................................................................... 7 - Page 2 - MSS 268 Agricore United fonds Summary information Repository: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Title: Agricore United fonds ID: MSS 268 MSS SC [alternative]: 182 PC [alternative]: 226 TC [alternative]: 131 MC [alternative]: 25 EL [alternative]: 36 Date: 1900 - 2007 (date of creation) Physical description: 12.88 m of textual records. 12,351 slides. 12672 photographs 31 sheets of negatives. 71 compact discs. 5 audio reels. 40 VHS video cassettes. 351 blueprints. 9 DVDs. 93 audio cassette tapes. 24 photo slides. 11 digital camcorder tapes. 4 DVCAM tapes. 5 maps. 1 data cartridge. 1 floppy disk. Language: English Dates of creation, revision and deletion: Administrative history / Biographical sketch Note On July 30, 2001, Agricore announced that the boards of both United Grain Growers and Agricore Cooperative had unanimously agreed to a merger that would create a new company, Agricore United, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Page 3 MSS 268 Agricore United fonds which would be modeled after UGG's share structure. On November 1, 2001, the merger took place and Agricore, the last of the prairie cooperatives, ceased to exist.Since the merger, Agricore United became the largest agribusiness in western Canada dealing in grains, oilseeds, special crops, marketing, agri- products, agri-food processing, and feed manufacturing. The merger also allowed for a greater ability to access public markets for additional capital. The company has weathered adverse growing conditions like drought and floods in various parts of western Canada, low grain stocks, and growing competition from international markets. While offering farmers management services like financing, risk management, agronomic expertise, and access to end-use markets, Agricore United has been able to capitalize on a wider system of developed infrastructure networks of port terminals, country elevators, and farm service centres. Built on the foundation of Agricore United and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Viterra was formed in 2007 through a merger.Refer to the finding aids for earlier history of United Grain Growers Ltd. and Agricore Cooperative Ltd. Administrative history / Biographical sketch Note The precursor to the United Grain Growers was formed in 1901 in Indian Head, Saskatchewan, by a group of farmers who came together to discuss common problems related to grain farming. The "Grain Growers" concept spread quickly to Alberta and Manitoba and, in 1917, the movement amalgamated its commercial interests in the three Prairie Provinces to form United Grain Growers Ltd. The infrastructure of the company included grain elevators, terminals, and a farm supply network. U.G.G. bought or built an extensive series of country elevators across the west from 1912 to the 1960s. Grain terminal facilities were also constructed and included facilities at Thunder Bay, New Westminster, and Vancouver. Through their elevator system, the U.G.G. sold supplies such as coal, twine, chemicals, and fertilizer to their farm customers. The new millennium brough much consolidation for Canadian agribusiness and U.G.G. was part of this trend. On November 1, 2001, it merged with Agricore (formed by the consolidation of the Manitoba and Alberta Wheat Pools) to form a new company, Agricore United. In 2007, Agricore United merged with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to form Viterra. For a more detailed history and choronology of the company from beginnings to 1990, see the finding aid "The Archives of the United Grain Growers Limited", by Jeffery Long. Administrative history / Biographical sketch Note Agricore Cooperative Ltd. was created November 1, 1998, through the friendly merger of Alberta Wheat Pool Ltd. and Manitoba Pool Elevators. It existed for only three years, then merged with United Grain Growers to form Agricore United in November 2001. Before the merger, it was one of the largest agribusinesses in Western Canada. Moreover, as Agricore United is a publicly traded company, Agricore can be seen as the last of the farmer-owned cooperatives, a movement that significantly altered prairie- farming practices in the twentieth century. Agricore officially began operations on November 1, 1998. Extensive preparations were made to ensure that a seamless transition occurred when the two historic cooperatives became one new entity. Winnipeg was selected as the head office and staff was shifted University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Page 4 MSS 268 Agricore United fonds accordingly. In late 1999, Agricore weathered its first serious crisis when the cooperative's unionized staff went on strike. The next year and a half saw Agricore expand its business in a variety of ways including the establishment of high throughput elevators in Elva, Manitoba and at the junctions of highway 3 and 14 between Morden and Winkler, in Manitoba. Though wheat and grain prices in 1999-2000 reached historic lows, Agricore managed to increase earnings and further enhance its reputation as one of western Canada's most influential agribusinesses. On July 30, 2001, Agricore announced that the boards of both UGG and Agricore had unanimously agreed to a merger that would create a new company, Agricore United, which would be modeled after UGG's share structure. On November 1, 2001, the merger took place and Agricore, the last of the prairie cooperatives, ceased to exist. Custodial history A collection of property ledgers (MSS SC 182) was transferred to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections from Agricore United through the efforts of Tom Kirk in 2003. Several further accessions were transferred by Agricore United in 2007 and 2008. The 2012 accession (A12-101) was donated by Viterra in 2012. The 2013 accession (A13-53) was donated by Viterra in 2013. Scope and content The 2003 accession (A03- 04) consists of six ledger books used by United Grain Growers (UGG) in the management of their property in the three Prairie Provinces. The ledgers are organized by province and locations are organized alphabetically. Entries focus on the payment of mortgages and the cost of repairs and improvements. The first 2007 and 2008 accessions (A07-46, A08-22, and A08.72) consist of a small manuscript collection (MSS 268) containing a UGG operation manual for elevator managers, operating manuals for various grain elevator machinery, blueprints, and material relating to shares, allotments, dividends, bonds, and ledgers. The large photo collection (PC 226) contains photographs, slides, and slide scans of nearly every Agricore/UGG elevator site throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, six VHS video cassettes of the United Grain Growers Video Magazine, and five sheets of grower and producer lists. In total, the photograph collection consists of 1773 blueprint slides, 8758 slides, 1250 photographs, 59 CDs featuring slide shows, and the six aforementioned video cassettes. The map collection (MC 25) holds various blueprints of grain elevators and their components. In total, the map collection consists of 351 blueprints. The second 2007 accession (A07-68) contains publications and financial records of the United Grain Growers Ltd., as well as some annual reports of Public Press Ltd., a subsidiary of U.G.G. The second 2008 accession (A08-155) consists of U.G.G. minutes and correspondence from the years 1918-1952. The first 2009 accession (A09-51) consists of material collected by the United Grain Growers library. Following the 2001 merger of UGG and Agricore, the library was donated, along with other archival material, to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. The collection has been divided into series and sub-series, and includes records related to acts, by-laws, and amendments (of federal, international, and private bodies) and records about UGG personnel. It includes various publications (including those of the UGG, the federal government, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Manitoba Pool Elevators, and the Canadian Wheat Board). University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Page 5 MSS 268 Agricore United