The Government of British Columbia will be supporting further development for a beef packing plant project in Prince George by strengthening the provincial food system.

If the Prince George plant becomes fully operational, the North will gain around 80 full-time jobs by 2020, with an additional 620 spin-off jobs.

“I am excited to support the amazing people who work in our ranching sector in the North and throughout the province,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture.

“This project has the potential to ensure B.C. cattle are bred, raised and finished in our province, providing retailers, suppliers, restaurants and consumers with great quality B.C. beef. This can provide an economic boost to rural B.C. and give consumers what they want.”

At the B.C. Cattlemen’s Associations (BCCA) annual general meeting in Smithers on Friday, Popham announced up to $450,000 of funding will be allotted for the project. 

The funding will be used to develop an industry-led co-operative business model to support B.C. ranchers that will determine what role they could have in the plant's ownership and operation.

Project proponents will model the PG plant around similar methods used in Ontario’s pork industry.

If successful, the next phase would look at funding approvals with the goal of construction beginning in 2019-2020.

The goal of the project is to provide differentiated, branded high-quality beef products.

“As beef producers, we know that keeping cattle close to home provides the best opportunity. Having a packing plant here in the province would allow us to market our beef as B.C. beef — something we know consumers want,” said Kevin Boon, general manager, BC Cattlemen’s Association.

“We recognize that there will be other considerations before we start building this facility. We need to look at establishing a finishing process and increasing feeding capacity. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an exciting first step in realizing that vision.”