Japan Earthquake Aftermath: A comment about Atomic Tourism

As Japan recovers from the aftermath of the latest world event impacting tourism trade, entrepreneurial tour operators are starting to think aloud about the ways to keep the travel trade alive between Japan and the rest of the world. Some have already whispered that "atomic tourism", a niche sector involving visits to significant sites of the nuclear age might hold some potential revenue. This field is set in a wider "dark tourism" realm, encompassing various visitor discoveries of catastrophic events, tragedies and sites where genocides might have occurred through the ages. People's fascination for morbidity often knows no boundaries. Let's hope that whatever new atomic tourism product emerges will be produced ethically, without appropriating fundamental elements that are rightly owned by the grieving population of Japan. There will surely be many lessons to be learned by us all from the journey of recovery this remarkable society is undertaking since March 11, 2011.

Harnessing the potential of surfing and stormwatching tourism

Tofino tourism stakeholders certainly knew what they were doing when they consciously acted to capitalize on the potential luring surfers and storm watching tourists represented in off-season revenue generation. Surfers use a renewable resource, they engage in activities that don't even require them to drive anywhere once they are in Tofino. The resource is on the beach.

Stormwatchers do the same. They come to enjoy just being in Tofino, experience the feeling of being out there in the elements, seeing the waves, hearing them crashing and just taking in the whole sensation of finding oneself in that particular environment at that particular time. When operators and marketing experts think of product development and destination management, those are key indicators of success.

Terroir, Identity and Seduction Symposium

Saskatoon Inn – February 20 to 22, 2009

The conference aims to officially launch a collective reflection on terroir products through workshops and networking. These activities will point the way to introducing and developing collective projects related to the terroir. These projects will allow us to redefine and promote the revitalization of our rural communities as well as our entire community's sense of identity.

A wealth of conference experts in terroir development from around the world will discuss subjects such as:

Rural development initiatives

Food and culture

Marketing terroir products

Tourism and regional development

Dietetics and local products

www.terroirsk.ca

A Natural Fit Suggests Bright Future For Can Pro

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Can Pro Ingredients Ltd. Of Arborfield is currently taking the necessary steps to establish the first commercial implementation of a new canola processing technology. The technology was made possible through acquisitions deemed a natural fit for the company.

After the recent acquisition of business assets and operations of Arborfield Dehy Ltd. (ADL) and licensing of proprietary canola processing technology from MCN Bioproducts Inc. (MCN), Can Pro Ingredients Ltd. Is in the process of transforming ADL's existing alfalfa processing plant into a multi-product processing facility.

"The acquisition was necessary to provide the base for the production facility," explained Todd Lahti, President and CEO of Can Pro Ingredients. "We acquired these assets and now we are expanding the production facilities that exist there, so it was a faster route than starting from scratch."

He says the combined operations are larger, more diversified, and more flexible than either alone.

"Arborfield Dehy Ltd. Has been operating the alfalfa business since the early 1970s, so when looking for a place to start this new canola business, it was beneficial to start it where there was existing infrastructure in place," said Lahti.

Lahti added that there are certain pieces of equipment that are utilized in the ADL business that are also utilized in the canola processing scheme and that they are planning to put to work within the new facility.

The expansion of the facility is expected to be complete and commissioned by May of next year. In addition to alfalfa, Can Pro will be processing canola. They will be crushing seed and using the licensed new canola processing technology which fractionates canola meal into a series of higher value products.

The infractionation process is a home-grown canola technology invented at the University of Saskatchewan and commercialized by MCN to employ in Saskatchewan's most productive canola region.

"This new venture is a synergistic combination of existing infrastructure and new technology," said Lahti. "Our value-added processing model accesses multiple input crops, maximizes infrastructure utilization, injects proprietary technology, and produces a diversified product line for international feed and industry markets."

"The canola meal is a low-value byproduct right now. MCN's patented infractionation process takes canola meal and fractionates it into multiple byproduct streams, creating products of much higher value than canola meal," explained Lahti.

"The canola meal has been an undervalued product for years with limited utilization. Therefore, fractionating the canola meal into other products opens up new markets for canola protein that previously could not be accessed. The new market suggests that more value is generated from the starting seed."

Can Pro has also attracted attention from biofuel manufacturers who have byproduct streams in need of further processing. The company's total seed utilization and multiple input materials approach to canola and alfalfa provide a model to enhance the economic viability of the biofuels industry.

"One of the problems with the biodiesel economic model is that they get little value from the meal. Our model extracts much greater value from the meal, which then allows better economics for the overall biodiesel manufacturer," Lahti suggested.

"Combined with unique local inputs, our model provides a risk-managed, sustainable, competitive advantage for our new company. If bio-refining is the wave of the future, this is an important step."

For more information, contact:
Todd Lahti, President and CEO
Can Pro Ingredients Ltd.
Phone: (306) 651-1930
E-mail: lahti@cpil.ca

Adding value to the mustard capital

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Proponents of a new mustard mill in Gravelbourg are hoping to build on Saskatchewan’s title as mustard capital of the world.

The province is the world’s second-largest producer of mustard, and the largest exporter. The majority of the crop is processed elsewhere.

That will start to change when commercial production begins at Mustard Capital Inc.’s dry milling facility in Gravelbourg later this month.

“We’ve got a unique and innovative mill that we are just finalizing and getting ready for production,” said Mustard Capital Inc. (MCI) CEO Tom Halpenny. “Our mill will use all three types of mustard – yellow, brown and oriental – and it will produce a wide range of products, including blends of the three varieties.”

Dry milling is the process of fractioning mustard seed into its three components – bran, flour and oil.

MCI is one of only two dry mustard millers in Canada, but holds one key advantage over the other dry mill in Hamilton, Ontario: MCI’s plant is smack dab in the middle of the globe’s leading mustard producer.

“That’s an advantage, absolutely,” Halpenny said. “Being physically close to the producer is important. We want to work closely with farmers to develop that supply chain all the way to the end users.”

Canadian mustard production didn’t start until the 1930s, and didn’t really begin in Saskatchewan until the 1950s. However, today the province grows 90 per cent of Canadian production and nearly half the world’s production.

Unfortunately, Saskatchewan’s mustard processing has not enjoyed the same level of dominance.

“Well, it does take some expertise before you can have the confidence to enter the marketplace. Because it’s an oilseed, milling mustard is not really a simple process,” Halpenny said.

“MCI is fortunate to have someone working with us who has multiple years in the mustard industry, so that’s one of the things that gave us the confidence to proceed and enter the marketplace.”

The plant has the potential to process 15,000 tonnes per year, but Halpenny says production levels will be increased based on the market.

“We are looking to have an overall production volume that will be scaleable, depending on the market demand more than anything, but there are other factors like the number of the shifts that we will be operating,” he stated.

Halpenny says the most obvious use for mustard is the food industry, which is where MCI will be focusing most of its attention for the time being.

“Mustard is the most heavily traded spice in the world, and mustard products are used in many of the foods you will find in your fridge besides the jar of yellow stuff,” he said. “Mayonnaise, ketchup and barbeque sauces will use it. It’s often used in the meat industry as a binder for things like hot dogs and other prepared meats.”

But Halpenny is quick to add that there are a number of emerging markets for mustard beyond the dinner table, including bio-pesticides and biodiesel.

“It has a very wide application, and we think we can expand on that potential with some of our products that incorporate non-traditional uses for mustard,” he said.

“We think there are a lot of opportunities beyond the food industry.”

For more information, contact:
Tom Halpenny, Chief Executive Officer
Mustard Capital Inc.
Telephone: (306) 648-2799
Website: www.mustardcapital.com

Increasing demand for flax fibre

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

It’s pretty amazing stuff. You can wear it. You can build with it. You can insulate your house with it. However, here in Saskatchewan, where we grow oilseed flax, little of the straw is used for processing.

Alvin Ulrich, the president of Biolin Research, is trying to change that through his work as the director of Crop Fibres Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission.

Crop Fibres Canada is a pilot plant, testing and resource facility for straw processing and fibre and shive (the non-fibre portion of the flax stem) production. Ulrich says they are currently working on ways to capitalize on the growing demand for flax fibre.

“People are going back to natural fibres and they are looking for a stronger fibre for industrial applications,” said Ulrich.

The flax fibre pilot project is partially funded by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agriculture Development Fund through its contribution to Flax Canada 2015, a federal initiative aimed at developing the added value potential of flax. This year, there is a cluster of flax producers in the Hepburn and Redvers areas involved in the project.

Ulrich says there are some new procedures to follow in order to maximize the value of the fibre in the straw rather than just picking up what comes from the back of the combine.

“Last year, with most of the farmers, we were able to use a stripper/header. It just strips the seed off the plant so that the straw is standing as tall as possible. Then we got some rollers and rolled it several times. That breaks off the straw in long pieces and gets it flat on the ground,” he noted.

“When we get rain, all of the pieces get a chance to get wet, and all of the pieces are touching the ground. As a result, the microbes in the soil have an easy chance to colonize the pieces of straw, so they start growing on the straw and start decomposing it.”

These extra steps may be part of the reason why the flax fibre industry has yet to take off, despite the fact that Saskatchewan produces 70 per cent of the Canadian crop.

“[Flax is] often the last crop planted in the spring. It’s often the last crop harvested because it can over-winter, so it tends to get pushed off to the end, and often, at the end of season, producers just want to get done and they may not want to fuss around with any extra steps,” Ulrich said.

Ulrich hopes that the net result of the work at the Crop Fibres Canada facility will be targeted end-uses for the fibre, with enough margin to be able to pay farmers to do more in the field to maximize the value of the straw, or even to be able to pay a processor to do it for them.

“We may be able to come up with a system where it is the processing plant that will do those extra operations. The farmer might receive less money, but won’t have to do the extra work. That would make the farmer happy, make the processor happy, and make everybody happy,” he stated.

“That’s the challenge – how do we get that first model plant up and working?” Ulrich says that’s the key to getting out of the catch-22 that currently holds the industry back. Producers won’t grow more flax for fibre without a processing plant, but investors aren’t going to put up the $5 million to $10 million necessary to build a processing plant unless producers are growing more flax for fibre.

However, Ulrich is positive about the future of flax fibre.

“We have more and more overseas customers who are interested in what we are doing and interested in investing. They wouldn’t be here if there weren’t some promising results,” he noted.

“There is no doubt we are seeing a growing interest. I am very positive it will happen. I’m just not certain when it will happen.”

For more information, contact:
Alvin Ulrich, Director
Crop Fibres Canada
Phone: (306) 955-4506
E-mail: aulrich@biolin.sk.ca

Natural fibre products in the spotlight at Saskatoon show

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Saskatchewan’s natural fibre producers will stage their largest public showcase ever during the upcoming “Saskatchewan indemand 2007” trade show in Saskatoon.

The show was conceived and developed by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food and Prairieland Park as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote their Saskatchewan-made products and services.

“Saskatchewan indemand 2007” will take place September 14 to 16 at Prairieland Park. Along with the trade fair, it will offer educational sessions with keynote speakers highlighting the steps necessary to become a successful marketer of Saskatchewan products, including the stories of those who have already developed new businesses.

The natural fibre sector will be offering a virtual show-within-a-show, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Tara Jaboeuf. It will be called “Fibre inDemand, Naturally!”

“There’s a whole bunch of different producers who got together and created this brand around natural fibres,” Jaboeuf said. “We have different industry groups from alpacas, sheep, llamas, rabbits, goats and flax. It’s our own little area and our own little specialty, showcasing what we do with fibre.”

Displays will be provided by both industry groups and individual producers, including some 20 individual booths and a large demonstration area.

“For example, they will bring fleeces and then show knitting, spinning and weaving with wool,” Jaboeuf said. “They’re going to have some sales at the booths in the trade show, and do some demonstrations both at the booths and in the demonstration area.”

Lynn Hilderman, an alpaca producer who operates Country Vista Alpacas near Duval, is co-ordinating a fibre product competition that will be held during the show.

“Anybody who has a product made of at least 70 per cent natural fibre can enter their work in the competition,” Hilderman said. “We have categories for individual artisans, mills or commercial operations, guilds and two different youth age groups.”

Hilderman says the competition and displays will showcase the full spectrum of skills and uses for fibre.

“Spinning, dyeing, hand-knitting, machine-knitting, crocheting, hand-weaving, sewing manufactured material, artwork and felting will all be judged,” she noted. “We’re hoping that, with the involvement of the different industries, we can have a good turnout and really show Saskatchewan people the diversity and opportunities in the fibre industry.”

Emerging products developed from flax fibre will also be on display, including recently created industrial applications, some of which will be seen for the first time.

“Saskatchewan indemand 2007” and “Fibre inDemand, Naturally!” are not only a showcase for the public, but an important opportunity for current and future entrepreneurs to meet, network and explore new business opportunities.

“People will talk with different associations and trading partners to see what they can do about selling, buying, and dealing with Saskatchewan products,” Jaboeuf said.

The show will also be seen by an important national audience. The Economic Developers Association of Canada is holding its annual meeting in Saskatoon at the same time, and delegates will be chartered to Praireland Park to view the exhibits and demonstrations.

Prairieland Park is still accepting exhibitors to “Saskatchewan indemand.” Anyone interested should contact Prairieland or visit their website at www.saskatoonex.com for details.

For more information, contact:
Tara Jaboeuf, Livestock Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 933-5099
E-mail: tjaboeuf@agr.gov.sk.ca