PEI

$6.8M expansion completed at P.E.I. research farm

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay joined researchers in Harrington, P.E.I., on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of major upgrades at the Agriculture Canada research farm.

Improvements include spectrometer and new labs

MPs Lawrence MacAaulay and Wayne Easter stand with scientists at the new, expanded Agriculture Canada greenhouse in Harrington, P.E.I. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC)

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay joined researchers in Harrington, P.E.I., on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of major upgrades at the Agriculture Canada research farm.

The federal government invested $6.8 million in improvements at the facility.

The upgrades included $3 million for 10 new and renovated laboratories, a $1.3 million nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer for soil research, and $2.5 million to double the size of the greenhouse to 392 square metres.

Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay outlines the upgrades to the Agriculture Canada research farm at a news conference Wednesday. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC)

MacAulay, the MP for Cardigan, was joined by a number of recently hired researchers at the facility.

"This government is committed to innovation through world-class science and to helping farmers have access to the most current tools and knowledge," said MacAulay in a news release.

The news release said agricultural research is a key component in its goal to increase agri-food exports to $75 billion by 2025.