Hot diggity dog! From Harvest Meats to canola, food businesses are at heart of Yorkton

Janani Whitfield · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

CBC's virtual roadworthy travel series Land of Living Stories explores the hidden gems crossed Saskatchewan. Reporter Janani Whitfield deed the roadworthy to Yorkton successful hunt of inspiring stories of assemblage spirit. This is the 2nd of a three-part bid from that community.

The concern satellite isn't ever easy, but erstwhile the slog starts getting Geoff Propp down, the president of Harvest Meats says helium remembers the appreciation helium and his unit get from customers. 

He shared the communicative of a antheral from the U.S. who was successful the country camping and loved Harvest's merchandise truthful overmuch helium contacted the company.

"He wrote this communicative astir the heavens opening up erstwhile helium ate his blistery dogs. It was conscionable hilarious," Propp said.

The family-started concern has roots stretching backmost successful Yorkton, Sask., and country to a period ago.

People driving by Yorkton whitethorn not recognize this southeastern portion of the state is location to respective large agri-food businesses. Beyond Harvest Meats, there's Grain Millers, which operates a works northbound of the city, and 2 elephantine canola crushing plants, 1 each owned by Louis Dreyfus Company and Richardson International.

Both canola plants are expanding, with the LDC institution besides adding a pea processing works to marque pea macromolecule for nutrient alternatives.

"There's much operation connected that occupation tract than I've ever seen successful this country successful my life. It's hundreds of millions of dollars of investments," Propp said.

He noted determination are strategical reasons the Yorkton area is bully for these businesses, starting with the beingness of east-west railway lines, a ample magnitude of disposable onshore and entree to a immense magnitude of groundwater done the Assiniboia stream basin. That h2o is captious to his ain concern and adjacent much of a origin for canola crushing operations.

Early beginnings arsenic nutrient market

Harvest Meats's past with Yorkton is tied to household roots. Propp's great-great-grandfather started a nutrient concern successful the aboriginal 1900s, moving the nutrient marketplace to Yorkton successful 1928. His sons expanded the concern with a nutrient processing installation and branded the products arsenic "Harvest." In 1997, the household made the prime to merchantability the concern to effort to turn it into a nationalist brand. 

Now Harvest employs much than 300 staff. Propp attributes the products' prime to the long-time loyal employees. They're speedy to archer him if thing doesn't sensation oregon look right, oregon deed what they judge are prime markers, aft years of being with the business.

"That benignant of feedback is conscionable invaluable. You tin thatch it, but it's astir generational," helium said.

David Harris, a long-time worker and accumulation manager, backed that sentiment up.

"We ever usage the champion earthy materials to marque the merchandise and we haven't changed that implicit the years."

As Yorkton and Saskatchewan person changed, truthful has the Harvest workforce. Harris said he's worked with radical from arsenic acold and wide arsenic Germany to the Philippines astatine the plant.

Propp said those employees thrust his absorption to support the concern going.

"We archer our radical each the clip not to instrumentality what we person for granted, due to the fact that it tin crook connected a dime successful a hurry," helium said, adding that losing a cardinal lawsuit oregon a callback could beryllium the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"You tin fundamentally suffer your concern overnight successful this industry. That's the benignant of worldly that truly keeps america up astatine night, but besides keeps america motivated to our precise champion astatine what we bash time successful and time out."