Co-operative roots grow deep in Dundalk

Steep in co-operative history,” is the best way to describe the community of Dundalk which is home to one of 10 branches of Huron Bay Co-operative.

New FS Dundalk crop centre 

I recently attended the grand opening of the co-op’s new crop centre in Dundalk with about 350 local supporters. “It is no wonder we had such a great turn out today,” said Dave Rogers branch manager. “There is a steep history here of co-op loyalty.” The co-operative has been a part of this region for 62 years and has a strong membership base with many multi-generational farms that have been a part of the co-op for a long time,” says Rogers.

Byron Monk, Huron Bay Co-operative president

I first got the chance to speak with the president of Huron Bay Co-operative Byron Monk, who has been a member of the co-op for 30 years. Not only was his dad, Orville Monk, on the United Co-operatives of Ontario (UCO) board in the early 80’s, but also his great grandfather Herman Monk was the president of the first co-op (North Brant 1) to join, what was then called, Farmer County Buying Clubs in the 1940’s.

I then chatted with Dale Pallister, past president of Dundalk Co-op and long-time member. He admits there have been ups and downs over the years, but when asked what kept him tied to the co-op during hard times he quickly replied, “If you don’t support your local community, it will starve!" He went on to say that it is not always about best price, but about the strong customer service and personal touch you get from your co-op. Pallister told me that his farm is now entering its seventh generation of family ownership.

During the day, staff cooked about 350 barbecue hamburgers and sausage-on-a-bun. The ribbon cutting ceremony was well attended and it was interesting, but not surprising, to hear from the mayor of the township, that he too, has co-operative roots that go back to when his father sat on the UCO board.

The new crop centre facility holds 2,000 metric tons of fertilizer compared to the old building that had a storage capacity of 350T. It now houses five, 200T bins and four, 250T bins compared to the previous building of five, 70T bins.

“The biggest impact for our members is the ability to have product on hand when needed,” says Rogers. “Not only do we now have six times more storage space, but we can now off-load product in half the time.” The facilities new ten-tonne vertical blender system replaces a four-tonne tub-blender.

During his comments at the grand opening ceremony, Byron Monk commended the employees of Huron Bay Co-op on their teamwork in getting this facility up and running for spring 2014. “It was imperative that we bring our farmer-members a more efficient system to accommodate the growing needs in this part of the province," said Monk. "And this spring, we did just that!"  

Ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 7 (L-R): Dave Rogers, Huron Bay Co-operative Dundalk branch manager; Brian Milne, mayor of the Township of Southgate; Bill Walker, MPP Grey/Bruce/Owen Sound; Byron Monk, Huron Bay Co-operative president; Jeff Hurst, Huron Bay Co-operative general manager and Jennifer MacDonald Huron Bay Co-operative crop specialist.