The governments of Canada and British Columbia have invested more than $4.3 million to support business development, innovation, food safety, and sustainability in B.C.’s agriculture sector, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick announced today.

The projects received funding between Jan. 1 and June 31, 2014, under the Growing Forward 2 Agreement and include farming and food processing organizations, post-secondary institutions, and private businesses. Some of the funded projects include:

• The BC Agricultural Research & Development Corporation received $1.7 million to help B.C. farmers adopt sustainable farm practices, ensure food safety standards are being met, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and to deliver animal welfare training and awareness.
• The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. received more than $855,000 to deliver programs that lead to the development and adoption of innovative products, processes and technology in B.C., and support the growth of exports from B.C.’s agrifood sector.

Other projects funded market and scientific research, the development of guides and tools for farmers, animal health and invasive species surveillance, and strategic business services.

Growing Forward 2 is a five-year agreement launched in 2013 that provides a $3-billion, federal-provincial-territorial government investment in innovation, competitiveness and market development. For more information on federal GF2 programs, visit: www.agr.gc.ca/GrowingForward2

Information on GF2 programs in B.C. is available at: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=EB8322DE53664C7289317829FA25360E

Quotes:

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz -

“Our government is proud to continue to make strategic investments such as these to increase profitability and competitiveness in Canada’s agriculture sector. The work being accomplished through Growing Forward 2 will enable research and development and enhance production and export capacities to grow a bright future for Canadian businesses.”

B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick -

“These projects help support the environmental sustainability of B.C. farmers through climate change adaption and Environmental Farm Plan programs, and economically through projects supporting sector research, market development and new technology. These factors all contribute to B.C‘s modern and diverse agrifoods industry, the 60,000 people it employs and the food security it brings to our province.”

ARDCorp chair Allen James -

“We're pleased to be working together with government and all stakeholders to continually advance agriculture in British Columbia. The programs and services delivered through ARDCorp support B.C. farmers and ranchers adopting new farming practices in environmental sustainability and food safety to keep B.C. grown and raised foods safe, sustainable and competitive.” 

A backgrounder follows.

Media Contacts:

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613 773-7972
1 866 345-7972
Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada

Jeff English
Director of Communications
Office of Honourable Gerry Ritz
613 773-1059

Dave Townsend
Government Communications
and Public Engagement
Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-7098
250 889-5945 (cell)

Jaclyn Laic
Senior Program Manager, ARDCorp
604 854-4483
778 227-7774 (cell, please text)

BACKGROUNDER

Growing Forward 2 provides funds to B.C. agriculture

Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2014, $4,313,157 in funding was released under Growing Forward 2.

A.C. Nielsen Company of Canada:
$175,000 to collect market intelligence on the domestic agrifoods market to support the growth of B.C. products in the domestic market.

Artemis Wildlife Consultants:
$5,436 to provide outreach for bovine tuberculosis in wild cervids.

Aspen Grove Property Services:
$7,125 to develop a guide for agricultural lease agreements.

Lolita Aumuller (contract):
$47,961 to develop and lead a Regional Nutrient Management Planning project in the Fraser Valley.

AU-nda Solutions:
$15,000 to research and begin development of an online whole farm assessment tool.

B.C. 4-H Provincial Council:
$2,600 to deliver a training session to youth ambassadors of agriculture and animal care throughout B.C.

BC Agriculture Council:
$8,866 to merge and collate web-based information.

BC Agricultural Research & Development Corporation:
$1,140,189 for the continued delivery of the Environmental Farm Plan and Beneficial Management Practices programs.
$316,543 to deliver the On-Farm Food Safety Program.
$156,000 to administer and deliver the Climate Change Adaptation Program.
$38,834 to develop, promote and deliver poultry euthanasia training sessions to B.C. poultry producers.
$34,827 to continue to deliver the Traceability Adoption Program.
$30,604 to deliver farm animal care training to non-industry stakeholder groups who come into contact with farm animals and who need to be trained and knowledgeable on farm animal care standards and practices.
$15,064 to deliver the National Farm Animal Care Council’s farm animal welfare codes of practice to small hobby farmers or others who own livestock as pets.
$386 to organize and host the 2014 Agri-energy Forum during the Pacific Agriculture Show in January 2014.

BC Blueberry Council:
$20,676 to conduct monitoring for Spotted Wing Drosophila.
$15,000 to identify the degree of Botrytis resistance and effectiveness of commonly used fungicides to control disease in berry crops.
$17,000 to support a one-year pilot of the Liaison Program that will encourage good grower practices and respond to propane cannon complaints.
$5,756 to provide surveillance for blueberry scorch and shock viruses in B.C. blueberry fields so that growers can implement management practises to limit disease spread and crop loss.

BCCA Program Delivery Inc.:
$18,000 to support the British Columbia Cow Calf Sector Benchmarking Project.
$9,510 to support adoption of the Verified Beef Production Program by B.C. beef producers, through food safety education and awareness.
$9,005 to co-ordinate traceability presentations and panel discussions for B.C. beef producers.
$759 to develop, promote and deliver a biosecurity training module and information package to B.C. beef producers.

BC Dairy Association:
$2,425 to support the Dairy Innovation Technology Transfer Outreach Program to develop and publish articles featuring innovative dairy technologies.

BC Food Processors Association:
$6,876 to deliver an agrifoods export readiness seminar on South China.

BC Food Protection Association:
$61 to provide educational conferences and workshops to address cold chain maintenance and process control through the food transportation system.

BC Fruit Growers’ Association:
$10,554 to conduct a survey for onion maggot in garlic.

BC Grapegrowers’ Association:
$3,000 to provide B.C. grape growers with updated financial planning information.

BC Greenhouse Growers’ Association:
$27,000 for the Microbial Contamination in Greenhouse Vegetable Irrigation Water and Grower Education Program.
$13,200 to evaluate biological control agents for preventing cucumber diseases, validate their use and safeguard crop health and production.

BC Honey Producers Association:
$3,500 to co-ordinate business speakers for the 2013 BC Honey Producers Association conference.

BC Pork Producers Association:
$136,202 to implement measures to prevent and contain Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED).
$9,000 to deliver the On-Farm Euthanasia Seminar and Field Training Session for Hog Producers in B.C.
$6,450 to support the Canadian Swine Health Intelligence Network (CSHIN).

CanWest DHI:
$3,500 to support a Business Management speaker at the CanWest Dairy Herd Improvement seminar.

Centre for Coastal Health Society:
$60,000 to enhance surveillance for endemic diseases of animals on a national level using the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN).

Climate Smart Business Inc.:
$9,000 to develop a Climate Smart Industry Brief for the food processing, manufacturing, distribution, and retail sector.

Community Futures Development Corporation of South Fraser:
$3,000 to develop and deliver workshops providing expert advice and training on how to create a farm-specific employee handbook.

Community Futures Fraser Fort George:
$8,497 to deliver a series of learning events to support the development of marketing and branding strategies for producers located along the Highway 16 corridor.

Diamond Head Consulting Ltd.:
$25,000 to finalize development of vegetative buffers as a Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) for the Fraser Valley, and to initiate development of vegetative buffers as a BMP for the South, Central and Northern Interior.

Ecomatters Inc.:
$24,700 to produce a manuscript for a scientific journal on phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) budgets, including nutrient loading and the effects of waste management and nutrient management responses on reducing nutrient loads that impact water quality.

Euromonitor International:
$123,121 to prepare six market analysis reports profiling markets for B.C. agrifoods exports.

First Nations Forestry Council:
$3,500 to provide a workshop to B.C. First Nations on business strategy, financial management, production economics, risk management and value-added ventures.

First Nations Wildcrafters BC:
$35,000 to develop and deliver food safety education and training to First Nations and rural communities.

George Geldart (contract):
$10,000 to update and format a number of financial and production information tools for different ranch operations and update and improve the budget information for a variety of agriculture industries.

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC:
$841,080 to continue to deliver the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program to increase awareness, development and adoption of innovative products, processes and technologies.
$14,083 to continue to deliver the BC Agrifoods Export Program to support increased export sales from B.C.’s agrifood sector.

Islands Agriculture Show Society:
$6,000 to develop and deliver Building Business Success educational sessions at the 2014 Island Agriculture Show.

Antal Kozak (contract):
$3,500 to provide consultation on the optimum statistical model for analysis of the results from the 2012 and 2005 Fraser Valley Soil Nutrient Study.

Jammi Kumar (contract):
$16,300 to deliver agriculture marketing skills workshops to First Nations communities in the central and southern Interior.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University:
$24,480 for research to evaluate the potential economic, agronomic and environmental benefits of biochar derived from poultry litter.
$15,113 to develop and test new biofungicides to target specific diseases of concern for vegetable seed bed production and selected berry crops.

Legerwood Natural Resources Inc.:
$9,000 to develop a draft operational framework for developing silvopasture on Crown land.

Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association:
$15,000 to co-ordinate Business Management Speakers at the 2014 Horticulture Short Course.
$13,000 to organize and produce the Horticulture Short Course at the 2014 Pacific Agriculture Show.

Emily MacNair (contract):
$159,693 to develop agricultural climate change programming and projects that build on the work of the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative.

Madrone Environmental Services Ltd.:
$30,958 to develop an assessment tool for agricultural nutrient management planning.

Ruth McDougall (contract):
$31,000 to develop a Whole Farm Nutrient Balance tool.

Victoria Merritt (contract):
$6,500 to design and develop a framework for a Market Research Program to help B.C. agrifood exporters identify markets for their products and develop successful marketing strategies.

Scott Miles (contract):
$17,307 to provide research and recommendations on the development of a 4-H Future Leaders program in B.C.

Michael Miller (contract):
$2,500 to update the online Manual of Common Diseases and Parasites of B.C. Wildlife.

Nathan Fong & Associates:
$14,000 to hire a professional chef to promote B.C. seafood at the 2014 Seafood Expo Global (SEG) in Brussels, Belgium.

Nechako Valley Regional Cattlemen’s Association:
$15,230 to develop and host an educational session on B.C. Alfalfa and Soil Fertility.

North Cariboo Agricultural Marketing Association:
$3,440 to co-ordinate business speakers for the 2014 Ag & Hort Leap Conference.

North Okanagan Dairy Extension Advisory Committee:
$3,500 to provide a seminar for North Okanagan dairy producers on succession planning in a supply management industry.

Pacific Field Corn Association:
$1,712 to merge and collate web-based information.

Peace River Forage Association of BC:
$14,000 to develop a web-based decision-support tool to support informed rangeland seeding and forage production across B.C.

George Powell (contract):
$12,840 to support the stewardship of winter feeding systems on riparian meadows.

Prince George Cattlemen’s Association:
$11,000 to co-ordinate speakers for Livestock Marketing and Risk Management Seminars for Northern B.C. livestock owners.

RHF Systems Ltd.:
$24,120 to provide upgrades to the Agriculture Water Demand Model.

Risk Reduction Strategies:
$40,950 to develop resources to enable B.C. beef producers to become better prepared for emergency events.

RWDI AIR Inc.:
$59,997 to support an air quality inventory model development process.

Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association Inc.:
$20,000 to support adoption of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices Program by B.C. herb and spice producers, non-timber forest resource harvesters and wild crafters, and specialty crops and hemp.

Serecon Services Inc.:
$38,938 to develop emergency planning tools and communications to help B.C. dairy producers manage emergency events.

Small Business BC:
$18,431 to deliver an agrifoods export readiness seminar on Japan.
$7,356 to deliver an agrifoods export readiness seminar on Hong Kong.

SRW Aggregation Services Ltd.:
$4,698 to develop a business coaching and mentoring tool to support specialized business planning of the Farm Business Advisory Services program.

Thompson Rivers University:
$11,343 for research on transforming the nutritive value of barley grains by hydroponic sprouting for use in grass-fed beef and dairy production.

Alison Thorpe (contract):
$4,642 to complete Agricultural Land Use Inventory information for the Comox Valley and East Kootenays, which will assist the development of an Agricultural Water Demand Model.

T.J. Consulting Ltd.:
$4,900 for Silvopasture Pilots and Case Studies.

University of British Columbia:
$25,000 to design, fabricate, and debug a dairy manure treatment system for installation at the UBC Dairy Educational and Research Centre in Agassiz.
$20,000 to develop a database of crop and manure nutrient contents which can be used in nutrient management planning by producers.
$18,875 to complete a research project to evaluate and select honey bees for resistance to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor.
$12,422 to research the effect of using advanced microwave and radio-frequency technology for treating dairy manure in order to reduce nutrient concentrations and produce struvite - a potentially marketable slow-release fertilizer.

University of the Fraser Valley:
$11,368 to develop a centralized stock nursery facility that will provide certified virus-free plant material to BC producers, and establish an integrated plant introduction scheme for perennial shrubs and trees.

University of Victoria:
$35,000 in support of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium to provide additional climate data for the Agriculture Water Demand Model.

Upland Consulting:
$5,977 to provide a socio-economic and environmental assessment of beneficial management practices.

Valley Farm Drainage:
$5,150 to identify subsurface drainage system locations to benefit agricultural management planning processes such as flood emergency, crop and livestock insurance, manure spreading, nutrient management, on-farm drainage, and watershed and ditch maintenance.

Vancouver Island University:
$15,000 to support market development for B.C.’s seafood and sturgeon/caviar producer industry through participation in the 7th International Symposium on Sturgeon (ISS7).

$11,087 to sponsor a Sturgeon Marketing Workshop as part of the 7th International Symposium on Sturgeon.

Webify Technology Inc.:
$5,940 to provide website services and maintenance

Z.K.S. Holdings Ltd.:
$17,000 for a research study into the epidemiology of Neospora caninum infections in dairy cattle in the Fraser Valley.

Media Contacts:

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613 773-7972
1 866 345-7972
Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada

Jeff English
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059

Dave Townsend
Government Communications
and Public Engagement
Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-7098
250 889-5945 (cell)

Jaclyn Laic
Senior Program Manager, ARDCorp
604 854-4483
778 227-7774 (cell, please text)