With a young workforce and average farm receipts between $100,000 - $249,000, the region has some of the most profitable farms in Alberta.
The region has an agricultural economy with 307,000 irrigated farmland acres, 290,000 of cultivated dry land farming and 600,000 acres of native and improved rangeland. This sector is fully supported by a number of research and development facilities and the food processing industry is a significant contributor.
The County of Newell had 668 farms comprising almost 1.45 million acres, worth $4.11 billion dollars in total farm capital in 2016. Gross farm receipts in the County of Newell grew from $287 million in 2011 to over $454 million in 2016.
The manufacturing sector in the Brooks Newell Region is a very productive and a highly specialized market. One of the larger productivity centers in Alberta, the manufacturing cluster provides employment for a great many labourers and is the largest single sector of the regional economy.
Annually, approximately 100,000 tourists visit the Brooks Newell Region to camp and experience the naturally occurring beauty of the Canadian Badlands. The City of Brooks is in the heart of the County of Newell where three provincial parks exist. The towns and villages, as well as the city, offer an abundance of shopping and recreational opportunities.
The Brooks Newell Region continues to profit from the wealth of oil and gas resources in the area. As a regional service hub, Brooks and area is home to many major oil and gas companies. Local businesses have also diversified through the downturn and have found innovative ways to operate and even grow.
