Business owner turns to raising spirits in North. (Timmins and Cochrane).

At the age of 70, retirement is the last thing on Ed Pedskalny's mind. Instead, the visionary is setting his sights on raising spirits in Iroquois Falls and the Cochrane district through a plan that has local farmers itching to produce barley.

Pedskalny, owner and operator of Ed. Pedskalny Automotive Supplies in Iroquois Falls, has dedicated the last few months to standing at a podium convincing local farmers to start working the land once again. The business owner is proposing a local distillery to produce neutral grain spirits, vodka and whiskey, a venture that would require farmers grow thousands of tonnes of barley annually for production. And with a registered business, Iced Spirits Ltd., already in place, and a business plan nearing completion, Pedskalny is confident this is one business venture that will grow.

"The idea came to me one afternoon when I was reading an article about iced wines and what a boom it was to the economy," Pedskalny says. "We can't have a wine industry here, but maybe we can get into the alcohol business."

His ambition to see the project come to fruition is driven by his desire to create jobs in a community that has experienced downsizing over the years in the forestry sector, an industry that has kept generations upon generations employed in the area.

"I have a vision," Pedskalny says. "I have a dream of seeing prosperity return to Northern Ontario."

"I see farmers in the restaurants with manure on their boots and happy because they have money in their pockets." Pedskalney says. "My biggest dream is to hear complaints that the barley trucks are wearing out the northern roads."

A box filled with resumes from community members seeking employment at the proposed processing plant is testament to the state of employment in the small town of 5000, says John Wilkes, Pedskainy's son-in-law and business partner.

The plant would produce 10 immediate jobs with a projected growth curve over to the next decade of up to 100 jobs, based on other models of distilleries in Ontario. Presently there are only about five distilleries in the province. This would be the first distillery in Northern Ontario, and could potentially provide a template for other areas looking at getting into this type of industry, Wilkes adds.

The intent is to produce generic vodka and gins, including single-malt whiskey, and from these products produce coolers from fruits that are distinct to the North. Blueberry pickers would have a whole new market to pick for. The project would have region-wide spinoffs since the grain would be bused from farms around the region to the processing plant.

JP. Ouellette, community development manager for the Cochrane Community Development Corp. (CDC), agrees spinoffs created by a new industry, such as the one proposed,. would permeate the entire region.

"This proposal is a capital and labour-intensive type of business, and will create a new market for a local product," Ouellette says. "The spinoffs are very, very important to Northern Ontario."

The CDC has been meeting with the proponents to formalize the proposal, while the North Claybelt Business Development Corp. has facilitated the preparation of a business plan, says Ouellette. The CDC will be specifically looking at the business plan and the marketing plan to determine what approach is best-suited for the project in order to see the plan come to life, Oueilete notes.

"We need to look at whether this (project) should take the form of a co-operative, share capital or non-profit (venture)," Ouellette says. "We want to seek out the best angle for this venture."

Wilkes and Pedskalny. laid the groundwork earlier this year by proving six-row malting barley can grow well in the. area, despite adverse weather conditions.

"Last spring I went out on a limb and bought 40 tounes of malting barley seed," Wilkes says.

The barley was distributed to 10 local farmers for a trial growing period this sununer. About 900 tonnes of barley was produced - a figure which represented half of the farmers' harvest, Wilkes says. Five hundred tonnes of barley produces an equivalent of 20 barrels, at 205 litres per barrel, of whiskey, half of which would go into producing iced spirits, or coolers.

In recent months a number of local farmers have approached the CDC to convey interest in supporting the project by expanding agriculture, says Ouellette.

Northern Ontario has viable land for agriculture. In comparison with land values in other parts of the province where urban sprawl is prevelant, Northern Ontario land values remain relatively depressed, Oueilette notes. The CDC intends on launching a marketing campaign over the next year to create some awareness in Southern Ontario on the prospects of agriculture in the area.

Avenues for funding of the project are now being explored through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Foods and Rural Affairs, which offers several funding programs, and also through FedNor and the Farm Credit Corp., a federal agency.

The project is expected to cost about $3 million to develop, says Wilkes.

Once operational, the plant is slated to produce about 5000 gallons whiskey a month, eventually bringing consumption up to 10,000 tonnes of barley annually.