(From Left MLA Diana McQueen, Thorsby Mayor Gee, ARRGO Chairman Peter Haberli, Premier Stelmach, Alberta Agriculture Dr. Susan Lutz, Provincial Minister of Agriculture Groeneveld perform the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the ARRGO Rhodiola facility)
A cheering crowd greeted the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the ARRGO Rhodiola rosea processing plant in Thorsby on October 30, 2009. Despite the snowy cold day, a crowd of over 200 hardy souls paid witness to this first for North America. ARRGO is a cooperative formed by and for growers of Rhodiola rosea, a hardy medicinal herb. ARRGO has the first known commercial primary processing facility for Rhodiola rosea anywhere in the world. ARRGO is harvesting and processing Rhodiola rosea root in November and December 2009 and is actively looking for more growers of Rhodiola rosea due to steadily increasing world-wide market demand.
(from Left : Peter Haberli shows Rhodiola to the media; MLA Diana McQueen, Minister of Agriculture Groeneveld, Dr. Kwesi Ampong-Nyarko and Premier Stelmach examine Rhodiola root at the ARRGO Grand Opening).
(From Left: Thorsby Mayor Gee jokes with the crowd at ARRGO Grand Opening; The crowd inside the ARRGO Rhodiola rosea processing facility at the Grand Opening).
