1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: July 15, 1958 – Broiler farm raises carloads of birds

“Carload Frank” Reimer is certainly living up to his nickname, as the Steinbach grocer launches his latest enterprise, which will see carloads of broiler chickens raised in four state-of-the-art barns at Steinbach Broiler Farms, just south of Steinbach.

Steinbach’s newest industry went into production the second week in July, with the arrival of 20,000 chicks from Canada Packers’ Hatchery at Manitou. Between now and finishing time, in just 10 weeks, Peter P. Wiebe, manager of Steinbach Broiler Farms, says he will feed this army of birds about 90 tons of feed. The Cornice X Arbor Acre White Rock Cross is a bird especially developed for broiler purposes, he explains.

The facility, about three miles south of Steinbach on Highway 12, is located on the site of the old Reimer slaughter house. Each of the four barns measure 170 feet by 32 feet and the project represents a record-breaking agricultural construction job for this area.

Steinbach Broiler Farms barns were built by A.K. Penner of Blumenort as the general contractor with the help of local sub-contractors, in just three weeks’ time. Each of the barns cost between $8,000 and $10,000. Steinbach Lumber Yards supplied the material.

Klaas P. Unger and Son of Steinbach did the wiring on the barns and boiler room, and Frank Froese & Sons of Steinbach looked after the heating job.

Frank Reimer, president of Steinbach Broiler Farms Ltd., says he expects broiler chickens ought to do well in this part of the country.

“At the present time, Manitoba imports huge quantities of broilers from the east, and that should not have to be the case.”

Reimer says the grain is right here to feed the birds, egg-hatching facilities are located in Manitoba and the province has its own killing plants.

“The logical thing for us to do is raise our broilers here, too.”