AAFC launches new methane reduction challenge

Nov 15, 2023

The government will award up to $12 million to innovators

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A new initiative from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is designed to support Canadian innovators with ideas on how to reduce methane emissions from cattle.

The Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge will award up to $12 million to support low-cost and scalable projects.

“At the forefront of agricultural sustainability, our cattle industry in Canada are setting global benchmarks,” Francis Drouin, the parliamentary secretary to Minister MacAulay, said in a statement. “The new Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge will drive further innovation in the sector to help fulfill a growing demand from consumers who are asking for Canadian sustainable beef and dairy industries.”

The methane reduction challenge will operate in multiple phases.

In stage one, up to 20 projects will receive up to $250,000 each to support the development of a technology, practice or process that helps reduce emissions.

In stage two, up to 10 finalists will receive up to $500,000 each to test their solutions.

In the third and final stage, up to two prizes of $1 million each to innovators who best demonstrate their ideas and solutions.

At the end of each stage, an external review panel will determine which applicants move forward in the challenge.

The application deadline is Feb. 7, 2024.

AAFC expects to announce its 20 semi-finalists in Summer 2024.

Members of Canada’s ag sector are pleased with the government’s support for methane reduction initiatives.

“Dairy farmers’ progress in terms of reducing our carbon footprint is in large part because farmers embrace innovation and research,” David Wiens, president of Dairy Farmers of Canada, said in a statement. “They do not shy away from applying new technologies and progressive ideas on their farms in order to improve their production and to protect the land and the environment. The Challenge announced today will add to our toolbox and help us on our journey towards reaching net zero 2050.”

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.