Kaiden Vancuren, general manager of the Medicine Hat Brewing Company, poses for a photo in the company's north Medicine Hat facility on Friday.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
The canning line at the Medicine Hat Brewing Co. is moving almost four times faster thanks to new equipment partly paid for by a government grant to diversify the agricultural processing sector.
Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Glasgo highlighted the grants – $50,000 from the Canadian Agriculture partnership – this week.
That two-year-old federal-provincial program aims to improve diversity and other facets of the agricultural sector. In the brewery’s case it relates to increased value-added processing of wheat and barley and other ingredients.
MH Brew Co. general manager Kaiden Vancuren told the News that the grant, which was paid in February, went to equipment to speed up production and the development of its summer offerings.
“We’ve had a very busy summer and we’ve still just trying to catch up to demand,” said Vancuren.
The original canning line could handle about 60 dozen beer cans per hour but can now produce 210 dozen, equal to a three-and-a-half fold increase.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a two-year-old federal-provincial program to strengthen the sector in five areas, such as sustainability, diversification, research, risk management and public perception.
Alberta’s share is $406 million over five years, and so far this year money has also been spent on helping Alberta-based beekeepers, and programs toward more efficient grain dryers.
Recently rural MLAs and Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen have made a number of announcements highlighting specific CAP outlays in southeastern Alberta, including those to irrigators.
Glasgo was quoted in a release stating that agricultural producers and processors “not only create jobs but also make important contributions that strengthen their ties to the community.
“This funding will help them grow and diversify their business.”
