Province Selects Nine Businesses For Innovation Growth Program

Jul 14, 2020

The Manitoba government has selected nine businesses to receive more than $750,000 through the Innovation Growth Program (IGP), an investment designed to help them develop and commercialize new, innovative products and services.

“The Innovation Growth Program provides support to businesses that are pursuing innovation and new opportunities, building on Manitoba’s many economic strengths,” said Economic Development and Training Minister Ralph Eichler. “Investments in these nine companies will also significantly expand their workforces and help grow Manitoba’s economy over the long term.”

The second round of recipients of the Innovation Growth Program include:

- All-Net Municipal Solutions;

- Aurora Aerial Inc.;

- Callia Flowers;

- Cerebra Health;

- Elmer’s Manufacturing Ltd.;

- Evotrux Inc.;

- Micro Traffic Inc.;

- Prairie Grain Analyzers; and

- Red River Press.

“At Elmer’s, we maintain an explicit focus on innovation,” said Wendy Dyck, controller for Elmer’s Manufacturing. “It is this spirit that wins us praise and enables us to gain market share on the international stage. With the assistance from the IGP, we will be able to improve time to market of our new grain cart design concept to commercialization in order to meet the needs of new customers.”

Eichler noted these companies are forecasting the addition of more than 260 new full-time jobs and $90 million of export sales over the next five years. Manitoba’s Innovation Growth Program is cost-shared with recipients, with Manitoba providing up to 50 per cent of total project costs.

The Innovation Growth Program was launched in June 2019.

Click here to see more...

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.