Poultry co-operative and PBE sign energy agreement

June 12, 2012, Montreal, QC – La Coop fédérée recently signed an ownership agreement with the most advanced biomass company in Canada, Prairie Bio Energy Inc. (PBE Group). This agreement will make La Coop fédérée the owner of 50 per cent of all intellectual properties possessed by PBE Group.

This new partnership will allow La Coop fédérée to become a Canadian leader in the promotion of agricultural biomass by supporting projects, products, practices and equipment through an authorized distribution network.

As part of this partnership, many activities are planned:

• Investment in projects to develop agricultural biomass in Quebec and other provinces
• A possible study on the implementation of a Blue Flame boiler production line in Quebec
• Marketing of Blue Flame agricultural biomass combustion systems across Canada and the United States
• Consultation activities in the projects that require technical knowledge in terms of agricultural biomass and/or Blue Flame
• Support for the Sonic energy sector of La Coop fédérée in their desire to develop heat production from biomass in Quebec.

La Coop fédérée proposed to the PBE Group that they work together to study the implementation of a biomass production plant in Quebec. This facility would process different types of biomass to add value in the area. "Our new association with Prairie Bio Energy, leader in its sector in this country, is very promising. There is enormous potential for the local producers here. The expansion that La Coop fédérée is undergoing in Canada, among other things through the acquisition of companies in the crop production sector, is opening the door to multiple markets. The synergy is there! The leadership from across Quebec is moving forward through our actions in the biomass sector," said Claude Lafleur, CEO of La Coop fédérée.

"Quebec has an excellent potential to implement an energy sector based on biomass. There is a big enough population to launch many projects," said Stéphane Gauthier, co-founder of PBE Group, "And the cost of fossil fuels is higher here than in Manitoba."

A possible project would also focus on working in collaboration with the oil sands industry to develop a product using a base from agricultural biomass that would help return land that has been exploited to its original state.

About Prairie Bio Energy Inc.

Prairie Bio Energy was launched in 2004 in Winnipeg, by two aerospace engineers, Stéphane Gauthier and Eugene Gala. The company developed a biofuel made primarily from dense straw that could replace coal. This source of fossil energy is widely used in Manitoba as well as in the rest of Western Canada.

About La Coop fédérée

La Coop fédérée represents nearly 90,000 members in 103 co-operatives with facilities in Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It employs more than 10,000 people and has accumulated a profit of 4.6 billion dollars. La Coop fédérée is present throughout the food chain and, as a wholesaler, provides agricultural producers the goods and services needed to operate their businesses, including oil products, hardware and agricultural machinery. La Coop fédérée will celebrate 90 years of existence in 2012, which has also been designated as "International Year of Cooperatives" by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.