Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
United Grain Growers Ltd.
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1917-2001
History
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.