Released on February 2, 1998
Humboldt will be home to a new facility that will test ways to turnPrairie crops into products such as automobile dash boards and
interior door panels.
The Crops Processing Development Centre will be built and operated by
the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) with the
assistance of $1.4 million from the Canada/Saskatchewan Agri-Food
Innovation Fund (AFIF). Facility design and equipment procurement
will begin this winter, with construction starting in May. The Centre
is to be operational in December.
"The Crops Processing Development Centre will improve the bottom line
for Saskatchewan farmers by increasing demand for non-food crops as
new and innovative value-added products are developed and processed
here on the prairies," said Lyle Vanclief, Minister of Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada. "These products will further contribute to the
economic growth of the Prairies and Canada as they find their way into
global markets."
"This facility will be a center for applied research and development
of medium to large-scale non-food crops processing technologies," said
Eric Upshall, Minister of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. "It will
add a new set of tools to PAMI's toolbox of research and
development expertise."
"There are tremendous opportunities to develop value-added
products for the market place, both at home and abroad," said
PAMI President David Gullacher. "But we need to develop
processing technologies that will add value to the crops already
grown here on the Prairies. We're especially targeting
agro-fibre and feed processing technologies."
He said that once operational, the new facility will concentrate
on engineering and testing.
"In recent years, PAMI engineers have begun providing some
development and testing services for processing technologies, but
the lack of an indoor laboratory has limited our capabilities
during the cold weather season," added Gullacher.
"The Crops Processing Development Centre will make an important
contribution to the economic growth that's vital to farmers and
businesses right across the Prairies," said Ralph Goodale,
Minister responsible for Saskatchewan in the federal cabinet.
"Diversifying our economy through the use of new technologies and
by finding new uses for traditional crops will help continue the
expansion of Prairie agri-food industries."
The new centre will tie into existing PAMI services. Created in
1974, PAMI now is partially funded by the Governments of
Saskatchewan and Manitoba to provide specialized applied research
and development engineering services to the agri-business
industry. Since 1974, thousands of farmers and hundreds of
businesses have relied on PAMI for progressive technology and the
latest information on advanced farming practices, machinery and
processes.
Extracting and refining structural agro-fibre from crops is a
growth industry. Recent technology advancements in fibre
extraction mean that mass-produced items such as automobile dash
boards and doors could soon be made from crop fibres. As a
result, a new industry is being built around this development on
the Prairies.
The $91-million Agri-Food Innovation Fund is funded two-thirds by
the federal government and one-third by the province. The Fund
promotes and supports emerging primary production and value-added
processing activities in Saskatchewan through eight key sectors
of the agriculture economy including non-food processing.
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For more information, contact:
David Gullacher
President/CEO
PAMI
Phone: (306)682-5033
Deanne Belisle
Project Co-Leader
Agri-Food Innovation Fund
Phone: (306)787-8096
Darrell Lischynski
Project Manager
PAMI
Phone: (306)682-5033
John Babcock
Project Co-Leader
Agri-Food Innovation Fund
Phone: (306)787-9768