Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative investments announced in Ontario

Sep 03, 2024

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $22.6 million, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency in the agriculture and food sector. Recipients include 319 farming and agri-food businesses.

Some examples of investments made through this federal-provincial initiative included:

- Up to $49,000, for Roelofsen Nursery, in Norwich, to purchase an electric self- propelled sprayer for field nursery crops.
- Up to $45,000 for Byler Enterprises Ltd., in Algoma District, to install reverse osmosis equipment for maple syrup production that concentrates sap, reducing boiling time and required energy, while improving syrup quality.
- Up to $100,000, for Solmaz Foods, in Etobicoke, for a refrigeration and freezer investment to enhance energy efficiency and capacity.

The Agricultural Adaptation Council is delivering the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative. Approved projects are to be completed by the end of 2027.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.