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Coca-Cola Canada Invests $150,000 in 4-H Canada’s New First-Generation Scholarship

– 4-H Canada is excited to announce a new program that will provide $150,000 in scholarships towards first-generation post-secondary students, thanks to a grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation. The scholarship program will focus on supporting students interested in making a positive impact in communities across Canada through skills and knowledge gained in their continued education.

As a Canada 150 signature partner, 4-H Canada is looking beyond 2017 to the next 150 years, and the tools youth need to ensure their personal and professional success. The launch of the First-Generation Scholarship will support this legacy, providing 150 bright young minds with $1,000 towards their postsecondary education. Any 4-H member who is the first in their immediate family attending a postsecondary institution or a post-graduate program is eligible to apply.

This new partnership with The Coca-Cola Foundation supports 4-H Canada’s work to help youth explore their career interests, develop new skill sets, prepare for the workforce and become leaders in a widerange of sectors.

By playing an active role in helping students pursue their education goals and encouraging a love for lifelong learning, 4-H Canada aims to empower Canadian youth to become responsible, caring and contributing leaders that affect positive change in the world around them.

“At Coca-Cola, we believe education holds an extraordinary promise to change lives,” said Helen Smith Price, President, The Coca-Cola Foundation. “By providing financial assistance to youth who are pursuing post-secondary education, we hope they are encouraged to pursue their academic dreams and realize their full and unique potential.”

“We know that education creates opportunities and it makes a positive impact on the minds of brilliant young people,” said 4-H Canada CEO, Shannon Benner. “We are grateful to The Coca-Cola Foundation for showing their strong commitment to supporting the development of Canadian youth as they find their voice on issues important to them through their academic studies and involvement in 4-H.” 

Source: 4-H Canada


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The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.