New oilseeds plant set for Kensington

A bio-refinery that will extract oils from specialty seeds will be built in Kensington, P.E.I., with the help of $6 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The plant will beoperated by U.S.-based Nature's Crops International, which sells high-value oil from flowering crops to major cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food manufacturers.

"Those are going to be cosmetics, but they're going to be functional cosmetics," said Andrew Hebard, president and CEO of Nature's Crops."They may be for sunscreen protection, dietary supplements which will be the small, soft-gelled capsules that you might take one a day or two a day or for better wellness."

The project is expected to create 19 full-time jobsand generate about$5.4 million in annual farm receipts. It is to be housed in the former Big Wheels Trucking warehouse on Victoria Street East.

"We found that farmers in Prince Edward Island were so receptive and innovative in terms of looking for other opportunities," said Hebard.

"I think part of that is because [of] the changing crop price scene of commodity crops and potatoes. But I think there's also a mentality here of wanting to continually do better."

This summer, the company contacted two dozen P.E.I. farmers to grow a total of about 400 hectares of crambe. Oils from the plant seeds will be used in anti-wrinkle skin cream.

Ken McLellan, who grew about 12 hectares of the plant, said the crop grew relatively well despite heavy rains shortly after the seeds were planted.

"A little scary at first when I seen it coming up. It was a little bit different than any other crop," he said. "Didn't yield quite as high as I had hoped, but pretty decent still, just the same."

Hebard said the company plans to expand to about 8,000 hectares within five years, with all the seeds processed at the Kensington plant.

"P.E.I. offers us the competitive advantage of the right climate, good growers, the right quality of product and a great talent pool to draw on for a growing business," he said.

The federal Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is providing $3 million in the form of a repayable loan under its Agri-Opportunities program. Another $500,000 comes from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the remaining funding will come from the province.