New feed mill boosts Moncton

The announcement Co-Op Atlantic will build a new $7.5 million feed mill close to the heart of Moncton to replace its aging, outdated mill on Halifax Street, is welcome news and shows the company's faith in both Moncton and the province's agricultural sector.

The site, next door to the mill being replaced, is significant and keeps what is a fairly light industry in the city's core. It is also right next door to the old CN Shops lands, a massive tract that is still awaiting development other than the sports complex at one end and the Giffels office buildings at the other. We'd hope the vision and confidence shown by Co-Op Atlantic in this part of the city does not go unnoticed and even inspires others to locate in the area, creating jobs in the process.

The Co-Op's confidence in our agricultural sector (and it'd not be building this kind of feed mill if it thought the sector was dying) is commendable and instructive. And, in the long term as fossil fuels get ever more expensive and consumers turn more and more to locally produced foods as transportation costs soar, this feed mill will be ideally placed to benefit but also to support the local farmers as operations expand.