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Rhodiola Rosea Processing Plant Opens in Thorsby | |
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From the Nov 16, 2009 Issue of Agri-News | |
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| | Alberta has the world's first Rhodiola rosea processing facility. Rhodiola rosea is the de-stress herb that has found a market thanks to the diligent work of Alberta producers and the support they received from the Alberta government.
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Alberta Rhodiola Rosea Growers Organization (ARRGO) organized the grand opening of the ARRGO primary processing facility for Rhodiola rosea in Thorsby on October 30, 2009. The facility was officially opened by Premier Ed Stelmach and Minister of Agriculture George Groeneveld. Premier Ed Stelmach stated that as a former agriculture minister, he was especially delighted to see this project and this facility open.
"The town of Thorsby has kept a keen eye on the developments at the facility over the past few months, and the Mayor Allan Gee, along with several other town officials, have made several eager visits to note the progress," says Judy Zastre, ARRGO director. "ARRGO worked hard to complete the facility for this year's harvest since it has already sold all of its crops through 2012."
Research for the growth and commercialization of Rhodiola rosea was done in-province, and ARRGO has worked very hard to establish a market for their product. "It took a team of over 75 professionals, working on everything from learning to cultivate the crop all the way through to designing the product that would be in consumers' medicine cabinets, to help ARRGO achieve the results we see today," said Dr. Susan Lutz, senior development officer with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development's Functional Foods and Natural Health Products branch and the Alberta Agriculture project lead for the Rhodiola rosea project.
This new facility represents growth in rural Alberta and will help growers process this new crop, and it also represents growth in agriculture employment in the province.
"The world-wide demand continues to grow and ARRGO requires many more Alberta growers of Rhodiola rosea in order to meet the demand for the root," says Zastre. "ARRGO is the only known commercial group growing and processing Rhodiola rosea in the world. Rhodiola rosea, a medicinal herb, used extensively overseas in Europe and Asia, is just becoming known to North Americans. Rhodiola rosea is known scientifically as an adaptogen and works with the body to stabilize stress reactions and improve energy.
"Although it is not native to Alberta, Rhodiola rosea is well suited to grow in Alberta, particularly in the areas north of Red Deer or at higher elevations and can be found growing wild in a few locations in Canada and in other climatically similar regions such as Siberia and Norway."
For further information on Rhodiola rosea, contact ARRGO at 780-789-3301 or e-mail info@arrgo.ca
Contact:
Judy Zastre
780-789-3301 |
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Lee Anne Bateman.
This document is maintained by Rita Splawinski.
This information published to the web on November 10, 2009.
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