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April 1992

State Roundups
North Dakota

From flax to french fries

North Dakota is the world's third largest producer of flax, behind Russia and the neighboring Canadian province of Manitoba.

Flax fiber is strong and durable and used to make linen; the edible seed turns into linseed oil, which studies have shown to reduce cholesterol. But the remaining straw, slow to degrade, is often left in the field to be burned by farmers.

Now a Garrison farmer has plans for that discarded straw. Lewis Bauer, president and founder of Bio-Sunn, employs an environmentally safe pulping process to mold flax straw into biodegradable packaging products. "This is the leading edge of technology," Bauer says. "We made the right connection with someone who had developed a safe pulp process."

Plans are under way for a pilot plant in Walhalla, a town of 1,429 people in the northeastern corner of North Dakota where much of US flax is farmed. Canadian flax grown nearby will also likely supply the plant. Bio-Sunn expects to employ 125 people when small-scale production begins this fall. In addition to producing packaging materials, the plant's sugar- based waste water from the pulping process will be used by the ethanol plant next door.

The packaging will likely first appear as fast-food containers for burgers and fries. The pulp will also be molded into meat trays used in grocery stores and into packing material for hardware.

The non-toxic material degrades quickly in a compost pile, can be used as fertilizer or can be fed to animals. "It is made from a completely renewable resource," Bauer says. "It can be coated with beeswax for waterproofing and longer shelf life." And the price is competitive with polystyrene (Styrofoam) and paper packaging.

Contracts have been signed with an undisclosed major restaurant chain to purchase the clam-shell food containers. And a German parts manufacturer is interested in purchasing flax straw packing material, similar in strength to particle board.

Once the environmentally sound packaging takes hold in the market, Bauer says, the Walhalla site will be enlarged and a second and larger plant will be built in the west-central North Dakota town of Garrison.

—Nettie Pignatello

Canadian shoppers just keep coming

While the Canadian government devises new incentives to keep Canadian shoppers at home, North Dakota border communities continue to reap the benefits of cross-border buying trips.

In a study released in February, University of North Dakota geography professor Lowell Goodman estimates that the 7,200 Canadians who shop weekly in Grand Forks spent $113.5 million in 1991.

The 1991 repeal of Sunday shopping restrictions in North Dakota has also contributed to heavy retail traffic. Since early 1991, each Canadian shopping entity—family or individual—spent an additional $58 per shopping trip because of Sunday openings. And Sunday store openings are the chief reason why Grand Forks hotels/motels have the highest occupancy rate in the nation. Weekend accommodations are booked solid in a 30-mile radius of Grand Forks, according to Goodman.

With about $2 billion to $4 billion in sales lost to the United States annually, the Canadian government is looking for ways to stem the flow of shoppers.

By eliminating tariffs on some retail items, such as VCRs, cameras and microwaves, the Canadian government hopes to decrease the price difference between US and Canadian markets, thereby keeping Canadian dollars at home. But, according to Goodman, it is likely that many Canadians would still make that US shopping trip for high-ticket items. "The thinking is if something costs $150 or more, it's still worth it to come down here because they can buy so much else at the same time."

Another national plan, termed "harmonizing," calls for provinces to tax all the same items as the Canadian federal government does through its 7 percent goods and services tax, thereby nearly doubling the sales tax on many items purchased in Canada and brought in from the United States. The benefit suggested to the provinces is additional tax money from both the Canadian side and from US purchases. All made easier because federal officials would collect both the provincial and the federal taxes at the border.

However, the prairie provinces are reluctant to participate in the harmonizing scheme. Manitoba has already said no because it would mean broader taxes in the province, placing an extra burden on Canadians buying in Canada.

Mulling over the likely outcome of the Canadian government's tactics, Goodman says, "At some point they will succeed; it's only a question of whether they will use politics or economics."

—Kathy Cobb