Government of Canada Helping Create New Uses for Agricultural Seafood Waste

Jan 23, 2013

Investment to Help Turn Seafood Waste to Green Energy and Fertilizer

The Government of Canada announced on Wednesday that it will be investing $458,000 to help create new uses for agricultural seafood waste that will provide economic benefits to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The funding announcement was made by the Honourable Peter Penashue, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

"We are very excited about the potential results from this collaborative research project. The envisioned technology and partnerships represent an innovative approach to enhancing the day-to-day farm operations in an environmentally sound manner, while ensuring the sector remains competitive," said Robert Walsh, President of Glenview Farms Inc. "This type of project will not only have a significant impact on the way we run our operation but can have a positive impact on the agriculture sector as a whole."

The funds will help assist the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture (NLFA) and Glenview Farms - with three key projects to turn the seafood waste into green energy and fertilizer. The funding will be allocated to the following projects:

•$170,000 – Research looking at creating concentrated liquid fertilizer from salmon by-products
•$124,400 – Research looking to anaerobic digestion technology to recycle organic matter into fertilizer
•$163,600 - will assist Glenview Farms to study the use of a filter process that would extract water from dairy cattle manure to create more effective liquid fertilizer and compostable waste

The funding announcement is made possible through the Canadian Agriculture Adaptation Program also known as CAPP. The Harper Government has been providing investments that focus on research and innovation as part of its Growing Forward 2 policy framework.

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.