Mountain View County council has approved $60,000 in financial support for Olds College's meat training centre.
During the March 12 regularly scheduled council meeting, councillors approved $30,000 this year and $10,000 for each of the following three years.
The donation comes following a Feb. 27 meeting between county councillors and college administration.
"During the course of the meeting, the county stated that it would be interested in funding an endorsement/bursary or individual projects that were agriculture related,î said county CAO Tony Martens.
Following the March 12 council meeting, Reeve Bruce Beattie said the donation will benefit the local agriculture industry.
"Over the previous three years we supported the centennial (Olds College's 100th anniversary),î said Beattie. "Now we want to continue growing that cooperative spirit that we have with the college. This is an opportunity. We asked them what we could do over the next four years to continue that, and they identified the meat lab as a good place to put our funds.
"We recognize that as an agriculture related project, so I was really happy to see that strong support from the council.î
It will be up to the college to determine exactly where the donation will go, he said.
"Part of that will be recognition of the county's contribution in the naming of a lab or a building or whatever they put those funds for,î he said.
