The Government of Canada invests in innovation to help grow Canada's bioeconomy

Montreal, Quebec – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - The bioeconomy sector holds tremendous potential for Canada, helping to reduce our carbon footprint while creating opportunities to grow our economy.

 

Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Parliamentary Secretary Jean-Claude Poissant and Member of Parliament, Francis Scarpaleggia, were at the Macdonald Campus at McGill University to announce a federal investment of up to $7 million to the Biomass Cluster under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Cluster, led by the BioFuelNet Canada Network, will include an additional $3.1 million in contributions from industry, for a total investment of $10.1 million.

 

This new research cluster will drive innovation and help improve technologies for processing agricultural biomass, including waste material, which can then be used as a renewable and sustainable starting material for production of cleaner bioenergy, and other bio-based products. The cluster will focus on three key areas of research including:

As part of the research cluster, McGill University will receive up to $888,061 in funding for a project that will focus on the development of biological inputs that will enhance the growth of biomass crops including switchgrass.

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.