New plant scheduled to open in fall 2019
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Representatives from Prince Edward Island’s Cavendish Farms, as well as local and provincial government representatives, put shovels in the ground for what will be a new $360 million potato processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta.
Cavendish Farms currently processes about 6,000 acres of potatoes annually. After the new plant opens in the fall of 2019, that number could more than double.
“Our business will grow from 6,000 acres of potatoes today, with our present land, up to over 15,000 acres,” Robert Irving, president of Cavendish Farms, said during the plant’s ground breaking ceremony on Monday, according to CBC.
“Those 9,000 acres – it’s an opportunity for the local farmers, the growers in the region, to really look at the opportunity to grow and expand their operations here and have a long-term future with potatoes.”
Alberta is currently Canada’s third largest potato-producing province, behind Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, according to the Canadian Horticulture Council.
Alberta growers harvested 50,142 acres of potatoes in 2015, with an average yield of 384 hundredweight per acre.
And the province’s potato industry contributes about $1 billion to the local economy, according to the Potato Growers of Alberta.
Farmers are ready to meet Cavendish’s increased demand and see the local investment as good news.
“I believe, for the most part, Alberta’s existing growers will be able to fulfill the demand,” Terrence Hochstein, executive director of the Potato Growers of Alberta, told Farms.com today. “Any time you can implement additional value-added processing to agriculture, it’s a good thing for the industry and for the economy.”
Construction on the new site is set to begin in December. The plant could employ up to 190 people when it opens.
Top photo: Drawing of Cavendish's new potato processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta./Cavendish Farms