Government invests in biomass boiler plant for cattle producers

May 13, 2013

Quebec and Eastern Canadian cattle producers to benefit from the creation of new biomass boiler plant

The Government of Canada announced the opening of a biomass boiler plant in Lévis, Quebec. The Sanimax plant was created with the help of the federal government – a repayable investment of $7.6 million, which was announced in Feb. 2011. The plant will handle carcass disposal and related by-products and will benefit cattle producers in Quebec and Eastern Canada, abattoirs and meat processors.

The biomass boiler plant has the capacity to utalize animal waste and turn it into energy. Sanimax President Martin Courture says that the plant will reduce C02 emissions by 22,000 metric tones per year. MP Jacques Gourde (Lotbinière-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière calls this investment a cost effective opportunity for the cattle industry and provides a safe disposal of animal by-products.

The project was funded part of the 2011 Economic Action under the Slaughter Waste Innovation Program.

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.