Economic Base
We have seen great growth in the past few years, as with all of Alberta, and alot of diversification in our economic base. Traditionally the main base was agriculture, but other industries are large contributors. Oil and gas are a large part of our business base, due to our proximity to Swan Hills, a resource town built on oil and gas, as well as large exploration and pipeline development within our area. We also have exploration and processing of coalbed methane, a biofuel production facility in the neighboring municipality, and forestry with two large lumber mills close by.
We are home to several large manufacturing facilities: Pollard Banknote, a lottery ticket plant, Northplex, a manufactured and modular home production facility, Viterra, which processes barley and oats, GFR Ingredients, which processes health food supplement ingredients, Champion Feeds, which processes livestock feeds, Neerlandia Coop, a huge farm and fertilizer contributer, and many other companies which are large employers in the area.
Recreation and tourism opportunies are available too, due to our excellent location near Edmonton as well as a variety of landscapes and excellent water bodies! We offer a wide range of retail, shopping and supply outlets and stores, with community-minded service. Our businesses give generously of their time and resources when available to give back to our residents and community!
Within agriculture, diversification is prevalent, with numerous mixed farming enterprises including grain, peas, hog, beef, dairy, poultry, elk, sheep, goats, ostrich, rhea, purebred cattle, purebred hogs, llamas, alpaca and seed growers. Diversification has expanded to ventures in market gardens, greenhouse vegetables, field vegetables, rhubarb, spice growing, garden nurseries and tree nurseries.