Connor Farms North, a new greenhouse and processing plant for medicinal herb drying and processing, is in its final phases of construction. Minister Mike Currie and company owners, Al and Mark Connor, were on site today to tour the facility and provide details on the future of this company in PEI.
Al and Mark Connor, a father and son team from Florida, recently purchased a farm property in the Lorne Valley area for the establishment of a medicinal herb business. The land will be used for both blueberry production and the cultivation of farm and medicinal herb crops.
"We're very pleased to open this business in PEI, where the quality of the land is ideally suited for plant production," said Al Connor. "I see great prospects for our products in the food, flavour and nutraceutical markets in Atlantic Canada and around the world. I am certain that our new facility in PEI will help lead our success in these growing markets."
Several companies have already expressed commercial interest in the purchase of either bulk raw or extracted products from Connor Farms. It is the company's long term plan to have their own branded products.
"The demand for medicinal herbs and nutraceuticals has shown a dramatic increase in recent years and is expected to continue a double digit growth well into the future," said Development and Technology Minister, Mike Currie. "I want to thank the Connors for making this investment in PEI and I look forward to the spring when processing of their unique products gets underway."
When complete, the facility will have the capability of producing a wide range of products from many different plant species. These include: freeze dried berries, herbs, vegetables and flowers; dried-sizing products for the tea and capsule markets; and, the production of liquid extracts for the medicinal, food, fragrance, and functional food markets.
Some examples of products that are commercially grown and processed include: Dandelion Flower, Dandelion Root, Echinacea Purpurea, Milk Thistle, St. John Wort, Valerian Root and Feverfew.
Connor Farms will require approximately ten employees to operate the plant when it gets up and running this spring. These numbers will increase once the production facility generates increased sales. In addition, Connor Farms will work with other local farmers to grow organic products for their company, as production demands require.
Connor Farms will have the option to sell product in bulk dried format or as an extracted oil based product. The dried process is seen as the simplest process in that the plants are harvested and dried then shipped in bulk containers to customers for further processing.
The extraction of essential oils is a more intensive process but one that has the greatest potential for revenue. The extraction of oils will be done using a steam distillation technique. Steam distillation involves using all parts of the plant including the leaves, flowers, roots, seeds and branches. The plant material is heated by steam in stills of varying types with condenser tubes to cool the hot condensate to a liquid form. Of all the types of extraction available today, the steam process is one of the most cost effective.
The Government of Prince Edward Island, through Prince Edward Island Business Development, assisted in capital costs related to the construction of the processing plant and the acquisition and installment of equipment.