In the second half of 2014, the governments of Canada and British Columbia invested approximately $7.2 million to support business development, innovation, food safety, and sustainability in B.C.’s agriculture sector.

The funding was provided under the Growing Forward 2 Agreement between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2014, and supports the Environmental Farm Plan and the Beneficial Management Practices programs that help farmers ensure their operations are sustainable, and the Climate Change Adaptation Program, which prepares farmers for changing weather patterns in the future.

The funding also promotes safe food systems in B.C. through the On-Farm Food Safety and Traceability and Post-Farm Food Safety programs, and supports the development of new products, processes and markets for B.C. agrifood products through the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program and the BC Agrifoods Export Program.

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

A list of funded projects follows in a backgrounder.

Quotes:

Gerry Ritz, Federal Agriculture Minister -

“Our government is proud to continue to make strategic investments to contribute to B.C.'s innovative and diverse agri-food industry. Growing Forward 2 will allow research and development of new farming practices in environmental sustainability and food safety. This will help keep Canadian foods safe, sustainable and competitive well into the future.”

Norm Letnick, B.C. Minister of Agriculture -

“The wide variety of Growing Forward 2 projects announced today help ensure the B.C. agriculture sector is using the latest knowledge and technology so they can compete internationally. We will continue to support industry as they maintain sustainable operations while developing new markets and expanding production capacity.”

Media Contacts:

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

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

BACKGROUNDER

Growing Forward 2 provides funds to B.C. agriculture

• Between July 1 and Dec. 31 2014, $7,184,676 in funding was released under Growing Forward 2.

Adaptive Resource Management Ltd.:

• $7,875 to provide program design and assessment services to enable the ministry to improve the climate-change resilience of its policies and programs.

Lolita Aumuller (contract):

• $38,000 to develop and lead a Regional Nutrient Management Planning project in the Fraser Valley.

B.C. 4-H Provincial Council:

• $7,500 to develop and deliver a pilot of the B.C. 4-H Future Leaders program for young adults.

BC Agricultural Research & Development Corporation:

• $2,233,477 to continue delivery of the Environmental Farm Plan and Beneficial Management Practices programs.
• $458,119 to continue delivery of the Traceability Adoption Program.
• $427,782 to deliver the On-Farm Food Safety Program.
• $174,918 to continue administration and delivery of the Climate Change Adaptation Program. 
• $22,766 to deliver a farm animal care training program to non-industry stakeholder groups.
• $10,764 to develop, promote and deliver poultry euthanasia training sessions to B.C. poultry producers.
• $7,731 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.
• $3,856 to develop a methodology for assessing the current transportation and management of cull cows.

BCCA Program Delivery Inc.:

• $90,000 to enhance management systems of B.C.’s Crown forage land and increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the forage and cattle industry.
• $21,669 to facilitate registration of B.C. beef cattle operations in the B.C. Premises Identification system.
• $18,500 to develop, promote and deliver a biosecurity training module and information package to B.C. beef producers.
• $4,500 to support the British Columbia Cow Calf Sector Benchmarking Project.

BC Association of Abattoirs:

• $27,000 to organize a series of regional workshops to assist producers and abattoirs with premises identification registration and with the use of the BC Meats Quality Information System.

BC Blueberry Council:

• $15,064 to conduct monitoring for Spotted Wing Drosophila.
• $15,000 to engage a liaison to encourage compliance and good practices concerning operation of audible bird scare devices.
• $6,136 to identify the degree of Botrytis resistance and effectiveness of commonly used fungicides to control disease in berry crops.

BC Broiler Hatching Egg Commission:

• $6,950 to develop a surveillance plan to maintain Salmonella Enteritidis control in broiler hatching egg flocks.

BC Food Processors Association:

• $542,125 to continue delivery of the Post-Farm Food Safety Program.
• $61,593 to deliver the Path to Commercialization program, which assists entrepreneurs in the food, functional food, and natural health product sector.

BC Fruit Growers’ Association:

• $16,115 to conduct monitoring and surveillance of Spotted Wing Drosophila in tree fruit.
• $9,193 to develop a response plan and surveillance strategy for apple maggot.
• $3,762 to conduct a survey for onion maggot in garlic.

BC Greenhouse Growers’ Association:

• $17,000 for the Microbial Contamination in Greenhouse Vegetable Irrigation Water and Grower Education Program.
• $7,600 to evaluate biological control agents for preventing cucumber diseases, validate their use and safeguard crop health and production.

BC Pork Producers Association:

• $283,209 to implement measures to prevent and contain Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED).
• $13,500 to develop an Emergency Management Guide for the B.C. pork industry.
• $4,800 to support the Canadian Swine Health Intelligence Network.

BC Potato and Vegetable Growers’ Association:

• $3,400 for a community outreach program to create awareness of potential risks to the commercial potato sector associated with gardening activities in Lower Mainland B.C.

BC Shellfish Growers Association:

• $3,500 to deliver workshops to B.C. shellfish growers on the oyster seed traceability system in Chile for adoption in B.C.

BC Turkey Marketing Board:

• $38,999 to investigate causes of elevated mortality in free range turkey flocks and develop best practices.

Hartley Berg:

• $16,000 to develop instructional materials for eight Business Management topic areas to increase the awareness and adoption of business management practices in the Small Scale Food Processor and Farm Direct Marketing (commercial kitchen) sectors.

Centre for Coastal Health Society:

• $23,000 to develop surveillance for endemic diseases of animals using the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network.

Climate Smart Businesses Inc.:

• $1,000 to develop a Climate Smart Industry Brief for the food processing, manufacturing, distribution, and retail sector.

Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Development Canada:

• $1,050 to support online marketing platform and associated promotional activities for Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Products in Hong Kong.

Diamond Head Consulting Ltd.:

• $45,266 to develop vegetative buffers as a Beneficial Management Practice.

E.S. Crop Consult:

• $10,654 to conduct research on pathogens and pests in beets.
• $12,530 for the collection and delivery of B.C.-grown produce samples for food safety laboratory analysis.

Euromonitor International:

• $14,473 to prepare market analysis reports profiling markets for B.C. agrifoods exports.

First Nations Wildcrafters BC:

• $6,500 to develop and deliver food safety education and training to First Nations and rural communities.

Fraser Valley Cole Crop Growers’ Association:

• $5,400 for Swede Midge surveillance in Southwest B.C. Brassicae vegetable crops.

George Geldart (contract):

• $4,593 for the New Ventures Coach pilot project, which will assist prospective and emerging entrepreneurs in the agriculture industry with farm business management skills.

Golder Associates Ltd.:

• $23,984 to develop Beneficial Management Practices for use on B.C. mushroom farms.

Globalwise Inc.:

• $7,000 to support the tree fruit industry in developing a strategy to identify the varieties having greatest potential for profitability in global markets.

Grounded Strategies Inc.:

• $85,665 to develop and deliver domestic and export marketing workshops.

GSGislason and Associates Ltd.:

• $20,000 to provide data for the B.C. Seafood Industry Year in Review publication.

IG MicroMed Environmental Inc.:

• $70,836 for laboratory research and analysis of B.C.-grown produce for potential human pathogens.

Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C.:

• $1,183,733 to continue to deliver the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program to increase awareness, development and adoption of innovative products, processes and technologies.
• $314,523 to continue to deliver the BC Agrifoods Export Program to support increased export sales from B.C.’s agrifood sector.
• $188,773 to administer and deliver the Climate Change Adaptation Program.

Irrigation Industry Association of British Columbia:

• $61,000 to develop an Agricultural Irrigation Scheduling Calculator mobile application.

Jammi Kumar (contract):

• $3,000 to support capacity development and continuous improvement of First Nations agri-food businesses and projects.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University:

• $40,757 to research native Trichoderma isolates suitable for control of soil borne diseases of vegetable, blueberry and raspberry crops in the Fraser Valley.
• $667 to develop and test new biofungicides to target specific diseases of concern for vegetable seed bed production and selected berry crops.

Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association:

• $10,000 to deliver the Horticulture Short Course at the 2015 Pacific Agriculture Show.

LTS Consulting Inc.:

• $5,600 to develop and deliver Lean continuous improvement training and education to the agriculture sector.

Ruth McDougall (contract):

• $20,000 to develop a Whole Farm Nutrient Balance tool.

Madrone Environmental Services Ltd.:

• $15,000 to develop an assessment tool for agricultural nutrient management planning.

Mighty Oaks Wireless Solutions Inc.:

• $11,990 to develop an online agri-food business assessment tool.

Nathan Fong & Associates:

• $11,000 to hire a professional chef to promote B.C. seafood at the China Fish and Seafood Expo.

Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia:

• $115,000 to estimate current and future agriculture water demand using the Agriculture Water Demand Model tool.

George Powell (contract):

• $26,750 to provide implementation support for Beneficial Management Practices demonstration sites and development of an updated Seasonal Feeding Risk Assessment Tool.

Risk Reduction Strategies:

• $22,376 to develop an agricultural emergency management planning template that can be utilized by local governments in B.C.

Sierra Systems Group Inc.:

• $20,215 to continue to develop a cross-ministry B.C. seafood strategic plan.

Smithers Farmers’ Institute:

• $3,179 to support speaker costs for the Smithers Farmers’ Institute business management workshop.

SRW Aggregation Services Ltd.:

• $9,867 to develop a business coaching and mentoring tool to support specialized business planning of the Farm Business Advisory Services program.

Thompson Rivers University:

• $59,133 to continue research on hydroponically finished beef.
• $2,575 for research on transforming the nutritive value of barley grains by hydroponic sprouting for use in grass-fed beef and dairy production. 

Uncover Editorial and Design:

• $29,798 to develop regional web page content.

University of British Columbia:

• $29,000 to conduct research on the microbiological risk factors in B.C. irrigation water affecting the competitiveness of B.C.’s fruit and vegetable sector.
• $14,125 to complete a research project to evaluate and select honey bees for resistance to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor.
• $8,000 to continue development of a database of crop and manure nutrient contents which can be used in nutrient management planning by producers.
• $2,000 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.

Vivid Solutions Inc. (contract):

• $20,291 to assess and identify the software business requirements of BC Premise Identification.

Webify Technology Inc.:

• $470 to provide website services and maintenance.

Z.K.S. Holdings Ltd.:

• $5,500 for a research study into the epidemiology of Neospora caninum infections in dairy cattle in the Fraser Valley.

Media Contacts:

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

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