b'VALUE BEYOND THE FARM GATEValue and Enterprise Beyond the Farm GateWhat opportunities are Alberta producers taking advantage of and who are the value-add up-and-comers?THINK YOU KNOW Albertas agriculture industry? Dont blink: its changing right before your eyes. From border to border and in ways from tiny to enormous, more value-added opportunities are coming to Alberta. While those opportunities are great news for individual innovative and entrepreneurial farmers, collectively they represent a healthy diversification and maturing of Albertas agriculture industry. More and more people are realizing what value-add is and where they can incorporate it into their business, says Darren Walkey, president of innovation and value add with Pleasant Valley Oils near Red Deer, Alta. For the past 200 years, Canada has been set up as a supply system. In the early days, most of the products produced in Canada would go back to Europe to support the empire. Now were seeing it doesnt make sense to ship the peas to China and buy backSteve Larocque is an agronomist and owner of theGeoff Stewart owns and operates Rig Handthe protein to put into our own products.consulting business Beyond Agronomy. Craft Distillery.Were realizing that were not solely an export nation; were a nation that canToday, consumers growing interestforward keenly: many have already create ingredients and products too. in (and willingness to spend extracompleted feasibility studies on new A decade ago, most farmers attemptingdollars on) locally-produced products,processing plants, most are actively to add value to their farm businessestogether with increasing domestic andpursuing larger value-add players, and at pursued go-it-alone, niche opportunitiesinternational demand for high-qualityleast one has purchased a quarter section like growing for farmers markets, sellingplant proteins and other fractionatedof land beside the railway in order to be direct to restaurants, or offering on-farmpulse, grain and oilseed products,particularly attractive to potential future agri-tourism. Some stepped into organics,is setting the stage for value-addinvestors. others planted some acres to specialityopportunities both big and small. ForWere at the tip of the iceberg. There crops. While opportunities existed, theythe most part, opportunities are beingare all kinds of producer groups and tended to be relatively small, rarelyenthusiastically imagined, but notstart-up companies that are hitting replaced a farms commodity production,yet realized. That said, municipalitiesthe ground and ready to roll, says and often carried significant risk.around the province are steppingWalkey. Were going to see more and 8seed.ab.ca'