Alberta’s tax credit supports expansion of meat processing facility

Alberta’s government is promoting economic growth and attracting investment through its tax-friendly business environment and agriculture resources. The Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit is an initiative aimed at diversifying the province’s agriculture industry.

Beretta Farms is the latest company to benefit from this tax credit, expanding its facility to increase production capacity. The company invested over $10.9 million in the project, which is expected to boost the plant’s processing capacity from 29,583 to 44,688 head of cattle per year. This expansion has created eleven new jobs, with plans to hire ten more. Alberta’s government has issued Beretta Farms a tax credit of $1,228,7355.

Beretta Farms’ facility in Lacombe is a federally registered, European-Union approved harvesting and meat processing facility. It specializes in the slaughter, processing, packaging, and distribution of Canadian and United States cattle and bison meat products to 84 countries worldwide.

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, says the program is making significant impact.

“The Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit is enhancing Alberta’s advantages for agri-food companies and the primary producers that supply them. This facility expansion will allow Beretta Farms to increase production capacity, which means mor Alberta beef across the country, and around the world,” says Sigurdson.

The tax credit provides a 12 per cent non-refundable, non-transferable credit for businesses investing $10 million or more in projects to build or expand value-added agri-processing facilities in Alberta. The program is open to food manufacturers and bio processors that add value to commodities like grains or meat or turn agricultural byproducts into new consumer or industrial goods.