By Jaryn Vecchio

Feds providing $4.6M to three Sask. agriculture organizations

Mar 16, 2023 | 2:31 PM

Multiple agriculture organizations in Saskatchewan are getting funding from the federal government.

PrairiesCan, a federal department that diversifies the economy across the Prairies, is supporting Protein Powered Farms ($3 million), Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre ($1 million), and SeedMaster Manufacturing ($602,500).

Don Henry, the CEO of SeedMaster, told farmnewsNOW this funding will help them automate some of the work in their Emerald Park plant.

“The demand for our product has grown substantially and we needed to update some of our products and processes in our plant in order to meet our demand.”

This includes new welders, overhead cranes, and a loading dock.

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The roughly $600,000 SeedMaster is getting only covers half of the expected cost for the planned upgrades. The rest of the funds will be covered through their operating funds.

Henry explained the funding is also a loan and not a gift. Despite this, it helped them make the decision to move forward with the project.

“It helps us make that capital expenditure… it’s always a challenge making large capital expenditures in our business without knowing what the future holds,” Henry said. “It made our business decision easier.”

According to PrairiesCan, Protein Powered Farms will be using the $3 million to install new plant-based fiber and extrusion equipment which will help them increase their ingredient processing capacity and develop new products. Just like SeedMaster, Protein Powered Farms funding is a loan.

As for Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, PrairiesCan explained the $1 million will help the group enhance its co-packaging capacity for the provincial agri-food sector. This funding is a contribution from the federal government meaning they don’t have to pay it back.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow