British Columbia’s agri-food industry is receiving $2.5 million for 27 new projects supporting new trial crops, and the development of new agricultural products and practices.

The projects announced today include:

• Testing of quinoa, flax, lentil and pea varieties suitable for growing conditions in the Peace Valley region;
• The design and testing of  novel, energy-saving LED fixtures to help producers in northern and rural areas to grow lettuces, leafy greens, micro-greens, and culinary herbs year-round while reducing energy usage by 40%.
• Development of commercial raw pet food products sourced from producers in communities throughout B.C.

The funding comes from the Governments of Canada and British Columbia’s commitment under the Growing Forward 2 agreement to provide up to $13.4 million between 2013 and 2018 through the Canada-B.C. Agri-Innovation Program. Projects funded through the program must have the potential to lead to the commercialization and/or adoption of innovative products, technologies and practices. So far 63 projects have shared more than $5.8 million in funding.

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.

The Canada-B.C. Agri-Innovation Program is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. Additional program information and application forms are available at: http://iafbc.ca/agri-innovation.htm

Quotes:

Gerry Ritz, Federal Agriculture Minister -

“Our government is committed to making investments that advance research and develop new opportunities for producers in our agriculture sector. The valuable improvements that result from the diverse projects we are supporting will play a significant role in ensuring that Canada’s agricultural industry continues to thrive and compete in the global marketplace.”

Norm Letnick, B.C. Minister of Agriculture -

“This funding supports our British Columbia agri-foods industry by nurturing innovation by encouraging fresh ideas. When doing this, it helps the sector remain competitive, while it continues to be an integral part of our Province’s economy.”

Learn More:

For information on federal Growing Forward 2 programs, visit: www.agr.gc.ca/GrowingForward2

Information on Growing Forward 2 programs in British Columbia is available at: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=EB8322DE53664C7289317829FA25360E

A backgrounder follows.

Media Contacts:

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

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613 773-7972
1 866 345-7972

Dave Townsend
Government Communications and Public Engagement
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-7098

BACKGROUNDER

Funding provided for innovative agri-food projects

Berry Treasure Farm Ltd.:

$10,000 to test the efficacy of high tunnels housing (similar to a greenhouse structure) over Red Currents in reducing disease and providing higher quality fruit and berries.

BC Association of Abattoirs:

$198,000 to develop commercial and community-scale product lines of locally-sourced raw pet food while advancing understanding of pet nutrition and standards of pet food safety.

$264,900 to develop an added “marketplace” feature to the recently launched BC BeefNet - a program launched to chefs throughout the province to improve the value and full-use of cattle processed at B.C. abattoirs. The marketplace feature allows chefs to sell portions of the animal they’ve purchased to specialty markets, secondary food processors and pet food manufactures.

$50,365 to pilot an auditing program that traces B.C. beef from retail distribution back to its source.

BC Grain Producers Association:

$122,796 to demonstrate the benefits of newly registered plant genetics. This project will provide local seed growers with the opportunity to produce new seed varieties and supply future commercial demand.

$49,117 to determine if winter wheat can survive in northern climates with the goal of providing northern producers with a selection of wheat varieties to meet future demand.

$73,677 to collect data on the effects of canola and wheat seeding rates on maturity and yield.

$49,117 to explore lentils as a potential new crop for the Peace region. Results from the project will determine if lentil farming is viable in the area.

$24,558 to explore a potential quinoa crop for the Peace River region. The project will determine the feasibility of growing quinoa in the region.

$73,677 to explore flax as a commercial crop for producers in the Peace River region.

$49,117 to work with plant breeders to produce different varieties of wheat, barley and oats with improved yield and maturity traits for the Peace River region.

$49,117 to study new pea varieties for the Peace River Region that can consistently be harvested before September.

Earth Renu Energy Corp.:

$45,875 to develop a potassium phosphate fertilizer using the by-products of converting food and agricultural waste to biodiesel. This technology can assist with the disposal and conversion of organic wastes to both energy and fertilizer to grow new crops.

GreenScene Agritek Inc.:

$100,000 to develop technology to remove virtually all pathogens, mold and dust, while capturing and reusing the heat from processing recycled waste horse bedding to be reused. This will provide the equine industry with a more affordable waste disposal option and safer animal bedding.

Invasive Species Council of BC:

$131,700 to reduce the sale and spread of invasive species through the horticultural industry by the development of tools and resources that will increase grower awareness and participation in relevant programs.

KRL Solutions Ltd.:

$109,904 to develop and test new, never-tried, livestock identification tags (Gumby tags) that are more likely to stay on the cattle. These tags can potentially provide a significant enhancement to traceability systems so that meat products can be more accurately traced back to the original animal.

Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association:

$7,000 to test and develop carrot and parsnip varieties that meet local consumer demand and are suited for growing conditions in the Fraser Valley.

Quadrogen Power Systems, Inc.:

$196,996 to demonstrate how high performance gas clean-up and exhaust monitoring will allow greenhouse growers to co-produce renewable heat and carbon dioxide from existing boilers. With the ability to substitute renewable biogas for natural gas, greenhouse producers can reduce their exposure to rising energy costs and lessen the carbon intensity of their operations.

Quantotech Solutions Ltd.:

$40,460 to design and test novel, energy-saving LED fixtures that will enable producers in northern and rural areas to grow lettuces, leafy greens, micro-greens, and culinary herbs year-round while reducing energy usage by 40%.

Seabreeze Dairy Farm:

$325,900 to demonstrate a nutrition recovery system for dairy manure and digestate. This project will process a combination of raw manure and digestate from their anaerobic digester to produce a value added fertilizer by-product.

Tech Mist Spray Solutions, Inc.:

$198,131 to evaluate a new approach to reduce pests and pathogens in greenhouses through an environmentally sustainable disinfection system. This is a new patented technology that can reduce the overall greenhouse chemical footprint.

Thompson Rivers University:

$112,200 to use unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones) equipped with infrared cameras to track cattle movement in forested range land, and animal health at feedlots.

$38,000 to determine the levels of K2 (a vitamin linked to regulating calcium depositions into bones) in regular-fat dairy products and to research the potential market based on these health benefits.

University of British Columbia:

$67,000 for a series of linked projects focusing on animal welfare and improving the adoption of automated milking systems by B.C. dairy producers.

$44,000 to examine best management practices to minimize the impact of grazing cattle on water quality in mixed-use watersheds.

$33,513 to develop a decision support tool to assess risks in mixed use community watersheds and help determine which best management practices will be most effective and efficient at mitigating these risks.

Vitalus Nutrition Inc.:

$28,500 to design a process to extract  Galactooligosaccharide from a by-product of the skim milk filtration process, and convert it into a marketable value added high protein food ingredient.

Media Contacts:

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

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613 773-7972
1 866 345-7972

Dave Townsend
Government Communications and Public Engagement
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-7098