HEMP GIVES DAUPHIN AN ECONOMIC LIFT

Landing the world’s largest hemp processing plant and at least 100
permanent jobs that go with it is the biggest economic win for Dauphin
since CN Rail cane through more than 100 years ago, says the town’s
mayor.

“This really gives us a renewed sense of optimism. It’s just a great
way to start the spring, and it’s like Brandon getting 1,200 jobs,”
Bill Nicholson said in an interview.

He said the town and rural municipality started talks about 18 months
ago with Consolidated Growers and Processors of Canada Ltd., which was
looking for a place to launch the first hemp processing plant in
Canada since the 1930s.

Nicholson said the municipal governments agreed to provide an
incentive package worth about $500,000 in roads and
infrastructure.

He pointed out there will be numerous economic spinoffs including
housing, farm machinery and others.

Douglas Campbell, Consolidated’s general manager, said the plant will
cost $25 million, none of it public money, and it’s expected it will
be operational by the spring of 2001, with construction to start this
year.

It will be built on about 60 hectares of land on one of three or four
sites near Dauphin and house two operations – one of hemp stock, the
other for its seed.

Campbell explained the main part of the hemp will be processed to make
bedding for animals, building products, plastics, automobile parts and
cardboard.

And the seed, he said, will be turned into various types of oil for
human and animal consumption.

The processing operations are totally different, even though they’ll
be housed next to each other, he noted.

Campbell said the plants will process 100,000 tonnes of stock and
15,000 tonnes of seed each year.

These will be grown on about 20,000 hectares of farmland, and about 75
percent of that is in the Dauphin region – a major factor, he noted,
in that area being picked as the site.

“Dauphin had already won the first round of the steeplechase because
of this,” he noted.

Campbell said while low prices of many crops provided an incentive for
farmers to consider growing hemp, a lot of them took a real risk on
something they had never tried before.

“These are really keen, innovative people who come from that kind of
background,” he said.

“This is a significant contribution for people who have never tried
this crop before. They have really responded positively to this.”

Of the 100 jobs, Campbell said about 80 production workers will be
paid $9 to $11 an hour while about 20 technical workers will get $15
to $18.

CGP is made up of a group of North American and European
investors.

The federal government lifted the ban on growing hemp in March, 1998.
Production was banned in 1938 because hemp is a member of the cannabis
family and contains THC, which gives pot smokers their high.