World Grain - April 2013 - 15

A ﬂour art museum story | No. 2

newsreview
Burton Joseph dies at 91; work set stage for Russian Wheat Deal
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. —
Burton M. Joseph, chief executive ofﬁcer of
the I.S. Joseph Company, Inc., died April 14.
He was 91.
While Joseph is best remembered as a
grain exporter, the Minneapolis, Minnesota,
U.S.-based Joseph Company had investments in approximately 30 operating agribusiness companies. The companies were
engaged in the grain and feed ingredient
business, export and domestic, involving
processing, storage and marketing.
Joseph is credited with playing a pivotal
early role in 1963 in the initial purchases of
U.S. grain by the U.S.S.R. The sales, which
set the stage for the Russian Wheat Deal,
began when the Soviet Union was grappling
with four poor harvests in a ﬁve-year period.
At the time, the Soviets were negotiating
grain purchases from Australia and Canada.
In his 1973 book “Amber Waves of Grain”
about the Soviet wheat purchases, James Trager described Burton’s role 10 years earlier:
“A Minneapolis feed grain dealer, Burton
M. Joseph, heard the Russians were in Ottawa. His wife, Geri, now a contributing editor
of the Minneapolis Tribune, was vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee
and a power in New Frontier circles. That
gave Burton Joseph entree to John F. Kennedy’s agriculture secretary, Orville L. Free-

man, and he persuaded Freeman that selling
grain to Russia could be good for America.
He proposed that a consortium of U.S. grain
companies go to Canada and work out a deal
with the Russians.”
Joseph led the team of exporters to Canada for discussions. Ambitious plans early on
were delayed and diminished by political opposition, labor problems and the assassination of President Kennedy. But shipments of
grain to the U.S.S.R. began in 1964.
Active in civic, religious and business affairs, Burton was a member of a Secretary
of Agriculture Advisory Committee and was
a member of the Department of Agricultural
Policy Advisory Committee for Trade.
He was active with the American Freedom
from Hunger Foundation and Mt. Sinai Hospital, Temple Israel and the Guthrie Theater
in Minneapolis. He was a national chairman
of the Anti-Defamation League.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 60
years, Geri M. Joseph; sons, Scott Joseph and
Jon Joseph; grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Services were held March 20 at Temple
Israel in Minneapolis. Memorials may be
sent to the Shelley Joseph-Kordell Memorial
Scholarship Fund 7158, University of Minnesota Foundation, P.O. Box 70870, St. Paul,
MN. 55170-3854.

Richardson to double canola capacity in Lethbridge
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA
— Richardson Oilseed Limited, one of
the largest canola oil processors in North
America, announced on March 20 its intention to expand its canola processing
plant in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada,
which will more than double processing
capacity at the facility.
Richardson currently processes approximately 1,200 tonnes of canola per day or
410,000 tonnes per year out of its Lethbridge
plant. The expansion will also enhance efﬁciencies at the facility through upgraded
technology and increased automation.
“Global demand for canola and canola
oil continues to increase due to strong consumer demand for healthier food products,”
said Pat Van Osch, senior vice-president,
Richardson Oilseed. “We are committed to
making a signiﬁcant investment in our Lethbridge plant to keep pace with increased
demand and continue to grow our business.”
Over the next eight months, Richardson
will ﬁnalize the scope, design and costs of
www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / April 2013

the Lethbridge expansion project to begin
construction in early 2014 and target completion by the end of 2015. Last year, Richardson completed a C$15 million expansion
at its canola packaging plant in Lethbridge,
increasing the size of the facility by 40%.
Richardson is currently in the midst of
another expansion project at its other canola
processing plant in Yorkton, Saskatchewan,
Canada. The company is increasing crushing capacity in Yorkton by 25%, which will
grow volumes from 2,400 tonnes of canola
per day to 3,000 tonnes per day. The Yorkton
project is on track to be complete by the end
of 2013.
“With increased capacity at two state-ofthe-art canola processing plants and strong
origination capabilities through our expanding Richardson Pioneer network, we will be
well positioned to service our customers and
meet the needs of the global marketplace,”
said Van Osch. “We are focused on expanding our presence as the leader in the Canadian canola processing industry.”

For a good time,
visit the mill
Since 1889 the world-famous “Moulin
Rouge” – or “Red Mill” – has enticed
visitors to Montmartre in Paris. This
legendary variety theatre features cancan dancers and exotic revues, and
unlike mediaeval mills it is located in
the middle of the entertainment district Pigalle. Because nowadays, erotic
entertainment is found downtown. But
in the old days, you went out to the
seclusion of the mill. Nestled discreetly
in a forest or on a stream far from
town, the mill was long considered
a place of permissiveness and forbidden lust. Mill brothels are known from
antiquity, and if the mill itself wasn’t
the house of ill repute, then such establishments could be found along the
well-travelled mill road. Indeed, milling and sensuality are so intimately
interwoven that “grind” came to
signify the sex act in more than one
language. With these erotic associations, it is no wonder that the Moulin
Rouge in Paris chose a windmill as its
trademark.
www.ﬂour-art-museum.de
www.muehlenchemie.de
For more information, see Page 110.

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World Grain - April 2013

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