Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112Seed Plant Profile 36 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta WHETHER you’re a person or a plant, 50 years of hard labour can take its toll. For the Enchant Seed Cleaning Plant, responding to the aging process required more than a facelift and a tummy tuck; it called for a major operation. Located on Hwy 526 between Leth- bridge and Brooks, the Enchant Seed Cleaning Plant has been servicing the area since 1969. It offers seed cleaning and dockage services for cereals, oilseeds, corn, pulses, grasses and legumes, as well as seed treating. Seed Money “Like many co-op seed plants, we got our start from the local chamber of com- merce,” says manager Bruce Mathieu. “The chamber sold shares and the share money was matched by the province and municipal district.” All told, the plant with furnishings and equipment cost a whopping $78,000. While it served clients well for almost half a century, management saw the need for a fresh start in 2005 and started making plans. “Our shareholders were demand- ing new technology and there wasn’t enough room to expand in the old plant,” says Mathieu. Thus the task of building a new plant began in November 2014. In March of this year, the doors opened and a new era was launched. More, Better, Faster “The scale of equipment is so much larger today and the technology is vastly improved. We went from cleaning 100 bu/hr in 1969 to 600 bu/hr today, and we can do a much better job of it now,” says Mathieu. In addition to improving speed and quality, the new plant allows them to keep pace with changing demands. Those include irrigation-built crops coming up from the U.S. and down from the Peace Country, new crops like hybrid canola and specialty crops growing in the area that need a place to be processed. Progress Takes Root The Enchant Seed Cleaning Plant looks to the future. A “Joint” Venture For example, they are one of the few plants that process hemp. “Hemp is something new that’s flourish- ing down here. It’s a restricted product with Health Canada so you must go through a certification process to handle it,” notes Mathieu. The plant also takes on more certi- fied organic seed from all over Western Canada, servicing bakers in B.C. and bringing in product from Saskatchewan that’s heading south of the border. A new and improved plant opened in March 2016. The Enchant Seed Cleaning Plant has been servicing the area since 1969. “Our niche is, and always will be, that we do what others don’t want to do.” — Bruce Mathieu Photos courtesy of Enchant Seed Cleaning Plant