Feds looking for ag innovations

Dec 17, 2018

The winner of a funding competition could receive between $10 and $50 million

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A new federal competition will support a project designed to help the national ag sector.

The federal government is accepting applications through the Strategic Innovation Fund that will “develop and deliver large scale, disruptive approaches to automation and digital technologies with applications within the agriculture and agri-food sector value chain.”

The projects should also be able to solve problems using data, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate economic and social benefits.

The winning entry will receive between $10 and $50 million to help the applicants develop their vision.

Investing in ag projects will help the industry meet new challenges.

"Canada's agriculture and food processing sectors have always been fertile ground for innovation,” Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s federal ag minister, said in a statement Friday. “By bringing together private sector companies, post-secondary institutions and non-profit organizations, our government is ensuring Canadian farmers and producers have the latest tools and technologies to take full advantage of the digital age."

Applicants have until Jan. 11 to submit a declaration of intent. The government will post these declarations online. The deadline for a full application is March 1.

In addition to this automation initiative, the government also recently awarded Strategic Innovation Fund money to an Ontario poultry project.

On Nov. 26, Ottawa provided Maple Leaf Foods with $20 million to support the company’s $660-million investment in a new facility in London, Ont.

Farms.com has reached out to the Agricultural Institute of Canada for comment on the funding competition and the importance of staying on the cutting edge of ag technology.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.