Funding Announced For Alberta's Hemp Industry

Jul 08, 2021

The Alberta Hemp Alliance will receive a one-time grant of $300,000 from the Federal Government and the Province to establish a provincial industry association for hemp processing

The funding will be distributed over two years through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The AHA is planning to be self-sustainable going forward by creating revenue streams from membership fees, an industry sales levy, education and training, webinars, conferences and trade shows.

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership has also provided more than $950,000 in grants to BioComposites Group Inc. (BCG) in the past three years to support growth in the hemp fibre industry in Alberta.

Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry says emerging industries like the hemp fibre sector are creating full-time local jobs and driving diversification in Alberta.

"It’s great to see BCG and the Alberta Hemp Alliance committed to rural revitalization and supporting our ambitious targets for job creation, investment attraction and increased agricultural and value-added exports."

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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.