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Being first has its benefits

There are advantages to being ahead of the curve. Take Atlas Growers Inc, a medical marijuana startup located in Lac Ste. Anne County that recently acquired $6.

There are advantages to being ahead of the curve.

Take Atlas Growers Inc, a medical marijuana startup located in Lac Ste. Anne County that recently acquired $6.25 million in financing from ATB and Quadel Growers Incorporated, a similar group operating out of Fort Assiniboine who recently received Health Canada’s approval and are currently in the process of raising capital.

On the other side, look at the industrial hemp outfits cropping up all around the province from Vegreville to Drayton Valley and beyond.

These are examples of people and companies who recognize opportunity where it has presented itself and they have taken steps to ensure they are the leaders, not the followers.

And why not? With all of the sunlight that we get, our province has long been recognized as having some of the best growing conditions on our continent.

So, why not Barrhead?

It is a question that has been posed before and one we pose to our readers again.

The County of Barrhead has hosted two information seminars regarding the uses of industrial grade hemp and how it might be grown, which crop rotations would best suit it, et cetera.

In addition, the county has taken steps to redistrict lands in the Kiel Industrial Park from agriculture to direct control, but they remain tight-lipped about what may or may not be going in.

When the price of oil tanked and our economy took a substantial hit, a new word began to be heard: diversification.

The point is that there are a myriad of uses for hemp and cannabis and we have some of the best land around.

Why store all of our eggs in one basket — the beef industry or in cereals for example, when everyone else around us is jumping on the bandwagon and leaving Barrhead in the dirt?

Let’s face it.

The opportunity is there.

We just have to be brave enough to take that leap of faith.

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