Premier Rachel Notley was in Lethbridge yesterday, helping break ground for the new Cavendish Farms frozen potato processing facility.

The state-of-the-art facility will cost $360 million, and employ 400 construction workers on site at it's peak. Cavendish Farms is making the largest private investment in Lethbridge's history.

The new facility is expected to create a demand for an additional nine thousand acres of potatoes.

Notley says, their investment is good for agriculture producers and the growth of the economy.

"Together with the City of Lethbridge, the federal government and the good folks at Cavendish, we are creating more opportunities for our agricultural workers, more jobs for people in the area, and even more reasons to be proud of an industry central to who we are as Albertans."

The Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Oneil Carlier, was also at the event. He says, Alberta's agricultural products have a worldwide reputation for their quality, value and safety.

"Supporting the expansion of Alberta's agri-food sector creates new markets for our farmers to sell their products and expands the capacity of our processors to create products that meet global demand."

Robert K. Irving, President of Cavendish Farms, says the Alberta and federal governments and the City of Lethbridge have established the general infrastructure necessary to allow them to build our the new plant on the site.

 

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