Agribusiness in the Southeast cont from page 11
packages hemp for bird feed, providing southern farmers with a market for seeds that are too small to dehull. Hemp seeds also can be pressed to produce an oil that is used in cosmetics, lubricants, paints and resins.
Danny Fieldberg has constructed the first hemp seed processing plant in Alberta on his farm in Cypress County.
“The building is built and the equipment is installed. We’re just going through the
food-grade certification right now,” he explains.
The facility will process one tonne of hemp seeds per hour, and they hope to handle about 1,600 metric tonnes this year or 3,000 acres of production. The Fieldberg farm will grow about a third of this and the rest will be sourced from farmers in the area.
“This initial processing for us is just going to be the hemp hearts. We’re talking
dehulling to begin with. We have a pre- cleaner for the seed and it can do two tonnes per hour,” says Fieldberg. “It’s set up to do one tonne per hour of dehulling and, once we have the first line running, we have the capacity to add a second line.”
The plan is to expand the business next year.
“Once we get the growers in Alberta organized then we will move into the oil press,” says Fieldberg. “Our initial focus is the international market in South Korea. For most processors, the main market is in South Korea and East Asia.”
HEALTH CONDITIONS THE OLD WAY?
TREATING YOUR
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Another process will be constructing a plant in southern Alberta in the fall but the precise location of this facility is not yet known. A dual seed and fibre processing plant is being relocated from British Columbia to the Leduc/Nisku area; it is expected to be in production in March/ April.
other parts of the country and the U.S.”
The local municipalities, producers and private investors are discussing how to position Medicine Hat and the region to attract food processors to the area. The key to doing so lies in further developing the regional infrastructure. This won’t be easy as it means competing with the government-funded infrastructure at Leduc.
Hemp is a crop that has
great potential. It grows really well on the Prairies.
Hemp fiber processing plants have also been opening throughout the province. Indeed, most of Canada’s hemp fiber- related industries are in Alberta. Plants in Lethbridge and Drayton Valley produce hemp biocomposites used by major car manufacturers in North America and Asia. A company in Calgary produces hempcrete for use in construction.
BE STRONG. STAY STRONG.
Improving the Infrastructure
12
“Here, in Alberta, we have vast swathes of arable land and farmers who wish to grow hemp,” says Slaski. “We are attracting processors and investors from
“There are lots of issues in this region,” says Fieldberg. “We have rail access here but we don’t have container on-load and off-load in Medicine Hat and that’s something that we need to develop. We need to establish enough processing here in the region so that it’s feasible to put in container on-load and off-load. We’ve already discussed that with the City and with Cypress County. We’ve identified the land and the place to put it but now we need to create that critical mass where the land will be prepared
and the processing industry will come to Medicine Hat. Until they know that we’re going to have container on-load and off- load, it’s not going to happen. That’s the discussion we’re having right now with the municipalities. It’s a big investment but it needs to be developed and created. We need to create an industrial hub in southeast Alberta.”
“We’ve been investigating transportation and transportation infrastructure in southeast Alberta for the last four years,” explains Walter Valentini, Executive Director, Palliser Economic Partnership. “We’ve had consultants do some work, and we have some ideas of how these issues can be resolved.”
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