Agriculture plays a role in the business of each of the prairie recipients of this year’s Young Entrepreneur Awards sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada.
The awards recognize the entrepreneurial spirit, leadership and accomplishments of Canada’s business people between the ages of 19 and 35.
Prairie winners are:
- Curtis MacKinnon and Wade Barnes own Farmers Edge Precision Consulting at Pilot Mound, Man.
Farmers Edge combines remote sensing equipment and technology to help farmers efficiently apply fertilizer to increase yields.
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Now covering 750,000 acres across the Prairies, Farmers Edge has grown to 10 management partners, 34 full-time and 11 seasonal employees and 17 consulting partners who re-sell the services. Farmers Edge has just opened its own soil-testing laboratory.
- Johan and Charla van den Berg own Plains Powder Coating at Emerald Park, Sask., just east of Regina. In 2007 they began offering powder coating, a durable, environmentally sound alternative to spray painting.
After securing two large agricultural equipment manufacturing contracts, the business grew to a minimum of nine full-time employees and will move into a new, larger facility with plans for further expansion in the near future.
The company powder coats anything metal, including fences, built-in sunrooms on new homes, doors and windows and bumpers for semi trucks.
- Steve, Matt, Chris and Mike Bain run Enviro Foam Insulation at Raymond, Alta. It an insulation product made from soy oil and recycled plastic bottles.
Steve started the company in 2005, bringing in his brothers as it grew. The company now has dealers in 29 locations across Canada and operates as a contractor network.
