Wild blueberries: Nova Scotia pushing for product innovations

Dec 17, 2019

HALIFAX - Wild blueberries are Nova Scotia's leading agricultural export and the provincial government is looking for new ways to push sales even higher.

That's why the Department of Agriculture has launched its Wild Blueberry Innovation Challenge.

The goal is to develop new products and markets — and generate more jobs.

The program is offering successful applicants up to $126,000.

Agriculture Minister Keith Colwell says successful applicants will work to commercialize their products with food scientists and technicians at Perennia, Nova Scotia's agriculture development agency.

Last year, the industry generated $104 million in export revenue.

Source : FCC

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.