A $2.6-million investment into the Western Canadian poultry industry was announced by the Federal Government on Oct. 19 in Airdrie, during a press conference that was held at the Institute for Applied Poultry Technologies in the Agricultural society building.
“What I am excited about is that our investment here today will help Alberta and Western Canadian livestock producers, particularly poultry producers, to develop healthier flocks, have better vaccines, and to have more value added products that we can sell to other parts of the world,” Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Michelle Rempel said.
The investment of $2.6 million, which comes through Western Economic Diversification Canada and support from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, will allow the Institute for Applied Poultry Technologies to purchase and install equipment that will be used for developing, production, and commercializing vaccines and health-related products.
“This is something that we have been working hard on for the last six years here, and this funding is going to be an extra boost for us here,” Dr. Tom Inglis, the president of the Institute’s Board, said. “One of the first steps for everything that we do here is to understand the problem before we solve it, and this funding will allows us to do that as we work on providing solutions to poultry producers.”
Wild Rose MP Blake Richards was also present for the announcement in Airdrie, and said he felt the funding was a positive for not only the community, but for agriculture as a whole.
“I’ve spent most of the five years on the agriculture committee, and I think it’s great news to see something like this happen here in Airdrie that has benefits across Western Canada as whole,” Richards said.
“Our government has shifted more of our focus towards more innovation, research, and development when it comes to agriculture, and this fits in very well with that.”
For more information, contact Institute for Applied Poultry Technologies General Manager Nick Allan at 587-360-3345.
