ASSINIBOIA — A fourth-generation family farm near Assiniboia, producing quality organic pulses, oil seeds and cereals, is now left to wonder how the Trump tariffs will affect their business. Mylo Chubb says the majority of their customer base is from the United States.
Stonehenge Organics, owned and operated by the Chubb family, has also built a state-of-the-art processing facility, which has enabled them to meet specific needs of their customers in providing quality, organic integrity to their customer base.
“We have an organic farm, 10 miles from Assiniboia that spans over 6,000 acres. Our main crops include lentils, peas, oats and flax, certified gluten-free.
Mylo confirmed that they just returned from Expo West, the largest organic natural trade show in North America, held in California. They have exhibited at this event for 14 years along with over 3,500 other booths seeing thousands of people in four days.
“To be honest, we are not sure of the impact tariffs will have on our business. Presently over 50 per cent of our product goes to the USA. The majority of our business is selling ingredients to end-use manufacturers, including mills, bakeries and canneries,” says Mylo Chubb, the head of the operation.
The family ag business said that in their recent experience at the American trade show, everybody was talking tariffs. Many booth visitors expressed empathy for their neighbours to the north.
“There is literally so much uncertainty as everything changes day to day,” said Chubb. “This has caused the forward contracting aspect of the business to be extremely difficult and on hold until tariff pressures are settled. Stonehenge Organics has had several conversations with customers regarding various outcomes on how to deal with tariffs. We just don’t know until April 2, when tariffs are set to be implemented.”
Chubb acknowledges that their customers are nervous. The question remains, with people becoming more committed to Canadian products, and stores putting up Canadian signage, will these pending tariffs affect them or are their customers going to require less product.
“After experiencing their busiest two months in business, fulfilling shipping contracts to beat the tariff deadlines, we ended up shipping eight months of product in just over 45 days. With the latest tariff delay currently set to apply April 2, the urgency of delivery remains high.”
During the interview, it was evident Chubb, like many ag producers, was doing his best to remain positive as there are many unknowns yet to be seen. However, the agriculture industry can be a tentative one due to rising input costs and weather uncertainties, the added stress of tariff troubles puts another layer of strain on those working in this industry.
