The County of Woodlands in the Whitecourt area has thrown its support behind a livestock processing plant that it says will save producers – and schools in the process. And its inviting producers from neighbouring jurisdictions like the M.D. of Lesser Slave River to get involved.
Reeve Doug Borg says the proposed $3.5 million facility was first proposed as a ‘diversified livestock’ processing plant to process everything from beef to bison, elk and ostrich. Producers of the latter groups “have been in trouble since before the BSE crisis hit beef farmers,” he says.
Left stranded because there was no sale for their breeding stock and few processing facilities in the province equipped to slaughter and process their animals, producers were left holding some very expensive merchandise.
Animals slaughtered at provincially endorsed facilities cannot be exported outside the province, whereas those processed in ‘federally’ endorsed plants can be sold anywhere around the world.
There are “a couple of federal processing plants in the province,” he says, “but their capacity is very small.”
Building a federally licensed plant with multiple processing capabilities in that region makes all sorts of economic sense, says the reeve, because there are many producers of diversified as well as domestic livestock – all the way from Peace River to Westlock.
The Woodlands County council jumped behind the project says Borg, because “if we do it in rural Alberta, they won’t be doing it in Edmonton.”
And when the county caught wind of a group of investors looking to build a processing plant, it rolled out the red carpet, inviting planners to set up shop in Fort Assiniboine.
Like many others in rural Alberta, that community has begun to fade, he says, and the population decline is threatening to close the school.
“We want to promote rural development,” says the reeve, “but we’re also agricultural. This will help our local industry, and regional too – and it’ll help promote growth in the region.”
Planners of the Alberta Value Chain Co-op have set their sights on a facility that can accommodate 100 head a day, he says. It’ll attract about 40 employees, says Borg, and people mean families – and students to fill the school.
“If we don’t do something to rejuvenate our population our schools will close.”
But just as importantly, the new plant planners are inviting producers to buy in to the project. That way they’ll have a facility to process their animals and effectively remove a layer of handlers in the journey from their farm to the consumer’s plate.
“If the producers retain ownership, they can cut out the middleman,” thus allowing producers to keep a bigger piece of the financial pie.
“We feel that the packing plants have gouged (producers), and this will bring more control” to livestock producers.
The county has been working with Value Chain planners for the past 20 months, says Borg, and has member producers from as far away as Kinuso.
They expect to have their plant in operation by the end of the year.
“The plant is for beef as well as diversified livestock and a whole range of livestock – what ever the producer wants, they’ll put through.”
By investing in the plant, producers will guarantee themselves a spot on the slaughter floor – in a manner of speaking.
“Producers can buy in, and each share will allow them one kill spot per year.
“This is value-added (production),” says the reeve.
“I’m hard to convince, but I am convinced” that the plan will be a benefit to producers, investors and the community.
Lesser Slave’s Reeve Foley likes plan
The processing plant is a great idea as producers attempt to rebound from the devastation caused by the mad cow crisis, says Lesser Slave’s Reeve Sheila Foley.
“We definitely support this initiative and hope they get the support they need from the province.”
The plant could be a boon for local farmers and livestock producers, she added.
“We love to see these rural initiatives go ahead.”

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