Cultivator, which has been a regular at the Canada’s Farm Show in Regina, will be moving its demonstration day to Ag in Motion in 2025 said the program’s director, Laura Mock.

Cultivator is a tech incubator program based out of Regina, Sask. One of its key mandates is to connect and support Canadian farm technology companies with investors, programming, industry partners, and other producers. The program has three goals: help develop Canadian ag tech, attract the best tech for Canadian producers, and to work with producers and industry to ensure that the technology will fit with Canadian farming operations.

Their expansion into AIM is because they see a fit between the show and the accelerator program.

“What’s really attracting us to the show is, I feel like this is probably the biggest and best farm show in Canada, is that fair to say?” Mock said. “The foot traffic, the number of producers we can connect with the number of industry partners, they’re all the same people that we need to come together for these sorts of key interactions in order for tech companies to be successful.”

Cultivator’s members span all kinds of technology innovation, from seed and equipment-focused to deep sea tech, software and artificial intelligence. They’re also looking to expand connections with other countries who are interested in program involvement.

“The goal is by offering world class programming and unparalleled access to industry producer, founder and investor connections, you start to attract all of these founders, to the program and to the show,” Mock said. “The benefit is then it just broadens our reach so that Canadian producers… can see innovation that’s born in a different region that we’re looking at [for] the application in Canada.”

While Cultivator doesn’t provide the funding themselves, they know who can provide it. Mock said this is an important step as less than 0.5 per cent of tech investment across Canada is in Saskatchewan technology, let alone Saskatchewan ag tech. It’s about making the connections and getting Saskatchewan tech noticed.

“The other investors that we’re bringing in, there’s lots from across Canada, and all the big ones that are focused on ag or clean tech we’re working with,” she said. “Global investors that are interested in agriculture [are looking at Canada]. Canada is just such an agricultural powerhouse.”

Hard work is being done between Cultivator and the AIM team to work out details, but producers can expect to see them and some of their innovator members at the show next year. Producers can expect presentations and the ability to see and interact with some of the new technologies from Cultivator’s network.

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The new rules can potentially impact 42 projects valued at over $11 billion and several thousand jobs, the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based clean energy think tank, said in the study.

Last month, Canada’s main crude oil producing province implemented a ban on renewable power projects that were to come on prime agricultural land and also ordered creating buffer zones so that wind turbines do not spoil scenic views.

The provincial government has, however, said exceptions would be made if developers can show crops or livestock can exist alongside the project. It has also said the rules are not a blanket ban on building on certain types of land.

Canada is the world’s fourth largest oil producer, with Alberta contributing 80 per cent of the country’s total production. The province is also a leader in renewables and accounts for over three quarters of the country’s total output.

The ban has attracted criticisms from some local companies who have claimed the new rules would create business uncertainty and jeopardize billions in investments, threatening to move to other provinces or the U.S.

However, it has also been characterized as putting agriculture first.

The policy has put premier Danielle Smith’s provincial government at loggerheads with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whose Liberal party is drafting regulations to make provinces eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their grids on a net basis by 2035.

An email sent to the premier’s office requesting comments on the study was not immediately answered.

Out of a total of 111 solar and 34 wind projects proposed in Alberta, 36 solar projects and six wind projects, which are either proposed or awaiting approval, could be affected, the study said.

These projects can potentially double Alberta’s current renewable capacity, it said.

–Reporting for Reuters by Promit Mukherjee and Rod Nickel.

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“Canadian farmers fully understand the need to take care of the environment and they are constantly innovating to find new solutions to reduce their emissions,” said federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay in a news release today.

“Our investment in the Agricultural Clean Technology Program will help keep our farmers and ranchers on the cutting edge, so they can make their operations more resilient today and for generations to come.”

The cash will fund 148 projects through the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program’s adoption stream, which prioritizes projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A further 14 projects through ACT’s research and innovation stream are also funded, the federal news release said. This stream supports research, development and demonstration of agricultural clean technology.

Among projects funded include 37 new grain dryers, 48 solar installations, and 31 purchases of “precision agriculture technology,” the ACT program’s database shows.

Other projects include anaerobic digesters, heat exchangers, and electric heating systems.

To date, 414 projects have been funded through ACT to the tune of nearly $170 million.

ACT first launched in 2018 with an initial promised spend of $25 million over three years and was later expanded to $495.7 million across the adoption and research and innovation streams.

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Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced the $165.7 million Agricultural Clean Technology Program is “now open to applicants.”

First launched in 2018 and earmarked for expansion under the federal government’s climate plan in late 2020, the program was tapped in the 2021 federal budget to allocate $50 million specifically to help farmers purchase fuel-efficient grain dryers.

Another $10 million will go toward “powering farms with clean energy and moving off diesel,” the government said.

Those specific non-repayable contributions are to come from the program’s Adoption stream, which goes to “support the purchase and installation of proven clean technologies and solutions that show meaningful reductions in (greenhouse gas) emissions.”

The program’s separate Research and Innovation stream will fund “pre-market innovation” such as research, development, demonstration and commercialization work on agricultural clean tech.

Applications were to be accepted on a continuous basis starting Wednesday, until funding has either been fully committed or otherwise announced by the program, the government said.

Under the two-step intake process, farmers and other applicants first must submit a project summary form, to help “determine a project’s eligibility and alignment with program criteria and priorities.” Those deemed eligible at that step “will be invited to submit a full application.”

The program “will help our farmers and agricultural businesses adopt new technologies so they can continue to lead the way,” Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, the federal cabinet’s special representative for the Prairie region, said in a release.

“We also recognize that many farmers use natural gas and propane in their operations, which is why the government of Canada has made grain drying a priority focus under the program.”

The government on Wednesday also reiterated its plan from the 2021 federal budget to return a portion of the proceeds from its carbon pricing plan directly to farmers in “backstop” jurisdictions including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario starting in 2021-22.

From that, farmers are estimated to receive $100 million in the first year, with future years’ returns to be based on proceeds from the price on pollution collected in the prior fiscal year — and rising in tandem with the price placed on carbon.

More details on that plan are to be announced “later in 2021,” the government said Wednesday. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on “green growth.”

“Budget 2021 announces the government’s intention to return a portion of the proceeds from the price on pollution directly to farmers in backstop jurisdictions (currently Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario), beginning in 2021-22,” Freeland’s budget documents said.

Farmers are expected to receive roughly $100 million in the first year, and “returns in future years will be based on proceeds from the price on pollution collected in the prior fiscal year, and are expected to increase as the price on pollution rises.”

Further details are expected to be released later this year. Some of the provinces currently subject to the federal backstop have recently signalled intent to design their own carbon pricing schemes, meaning producers in those provinces wouldn’t be eligible for the federal payments.

Budget 2021 also extends funding for the Agricultural Clean Technology Program. The $25-million, three-year investment launched in 2018 is to be replaced by a $165 million allocation as the program continues to expand.

According to the budget, $50 million is being prioritized for the purchase of more efficient grain dryers for farmers.

“These initiatives will help farmers transition to lower-carbon, more fuel-efficient ways of farming,” it said.

Freeland’s “green and clean” budget hails farmers as “major players in Canada’s fight against climate change.”

“The agricultural sector has the potential to scale up climate solutions, many of which are already underway across the country,” the budget said.

An additional $200 million over two years is being added to the Agricultural Climate Solutions program, which will “will target projects accelerating emission reductions by improving nitrogen management, increasing adoption of cover cropping, and normalizing rotational grazing.”

That funding will kick in during the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Ottawa also plans to allocate $60 million over the next two years from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund to “target the protection of existing wetlands and trees on farms, including through a reverse auction pilot program.”

A consultation process for carbon border adjustments will also be announced in the coming weeks, Freeland announced.

“This consultation process will begin in the summer with targeted discussions, including with provinces and territories, importers, and exporters — especially those who deal in emissions-intensive goods. The broader public will be engaged this fall,” the budget said.

“Throughout this process, the government intends to continue its international engagement with like-minded partner.”

Because Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard is expected to reduce greenhouse gases by more than 20 megatonnes in 2030, the government is spending $67.2 million over seven years to implement and administer it.

“This standard creates new economic opportunities for Canada’s biofuel producers, including farmers and foresters, who are part of the diverse supply chain for low-carbon fuels. Making this investment now will secure Canada’s future competitiveness in the global transition to a low-carbon economy,” it said.

The government’s spending plans also account for $292.5 million over seven years in compensation to Canada’s supply managed sectors for the CETA and CPTPP trade deals.

The budget confirms a program supporting temporary foreign workers is being extended into 2021-22 to assist with costs associated with COVID-19 and mandatory isolations. It will then be slowly eliminated.

Another $57.6 million is being spent to extend the program, which offers up to $1,500 per worker in isolation until June 15 this year.

“If workers are required to quarantine at a government-approved facility, due to a lack of suitable facilities at their employers’ facilities, employers can receive up to $2,000 per worker for costs associated with mandatory isolation requirements,” the budget said.

After June 15, employers will be able to receive $750 per worker “until the wind-down of the program” on Aug. 31.

Following this, the government intends to phase out the program, but “will consult with employers on the transition to ensure that migrant workers are similarly compensated through their quarantine period by their employers.”

Over six years, the government plans to spend $1 billion on the Universal Broadband Fund “to support a more rapid rollout of broadband projects in collaboration with provinces and territories and other partners.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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However, he didn’t provide any details.

“There is promising news on this front,” Carr told the meeting, hosted by the Canola Council of Canada and Canada Grains Council. “We know it has been an irritant. I understand why. I just want you to take some reassurance on what (Agriculture) Minister (Marie-Claude) Bibeau said last week and what will be discussed internally and then made public before too long about details on how we are going to address this issue.”

A statement from Bibeau last week said, in part: “We are committed to new rebates for on-farm fuel use such as grain drying, in order to both support our food producers and also encourage new investments in sustainable technologies that go beyond existing exemptions for farm fuels and rebates for greenhouses.”

Her statement came in reaction to Bill C-206, a private member’s bill to exempt certain farm fuels from the carbon tax, which the governing Liberals voted against.

“In addition, our government will make grain drying and barn heating a priority focus under the new $165 million agriculture clean technology fund,” Bibeau said. “The program will invest in energy efficiency, fuel switching, and other new technologies on farms. This program will be announced in the coming months. These commitments build on our government’s impending launch of a $185 million Natural Climate Solutions for Agriculture Fund, which will also be announced in the months to come.”

Farmers are already fighting climate change and the federal government intends to help them achieve more, Carr said.

“The issue has gathered a lot of heat across the Prairies,” he added. “I don’t like some of that heat and I think we have to do something about it. What Minister Bibeau announced last week, and as that policy roles out over the coming weeks, I think that some of that heat will come out of the discussion.

“And I also believe that it’s important that the Government of Canada has a better insight into why there’s so much heat and why farmers have taken the position they have on a price on pollution and why they believe that there ought to be rebates and exemptions and that’s what we are determined to do so.”

Instead of carbon tax, the federal government prefers to call it a ‘price on pollution,’ Carr said.

“It’s a price mechanism that even conservative economists around the world think is the right way to go,” he said.

Carr declined to say if the carbon tax — set to hit $170 a tonne by 2030 — would result in lower emissions, or if it needs to be higher.

And while finding a consensus on cutting carbon emissions to mitigate climate has been difficult, Carr said consensus is getting closer.

“If you look at how the tone and temperature has been reduced over the last number of months….” he said.

“While consensus might be elusive, it is worth chasing. And I see all kinds of alignment between the government of Canada and the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“I am always looking for common ground and I am encouraged to see how much we’re finding.”

Carr also said the Port of Vancouver authority should have more Prairie directors on its board — a move for which the Western Grain Elevator Association is advocating.

Canola Council of Canada president Jim Emerson told Carr goods shipped from the Prairie provinces accounts for 85 per cent of the value of cargo shipped through Vancouver, but Prairie representatives make up just nine per cent of the port authority’s directors.

The Canadian government — including the public service as well as boards and commissions — needs more Prairie representation, Carr added.

— Allan Dawson is a reporter for the Manitoba Co-operator at Miami, Man.

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“I think the world market is also looking towards a greener economy and always more sustainable agriculture,” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said when the question was put to her Tuesday during an online session with members of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation.

“All the revenues coming from the price on pollution will be redistributed within the provinces,” she said, and the government intends to spend some of the carbon tax to help farmers use new technology to cut their carbon emissions.

In its “strengthened” climate plan, ‘A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy,’ released last Friday, the federal government said that after the carbon tax hits $50 a tonne in 2022, it will increase by $15 a tonne per year and reach $170 a tonne in 2030.

It’s expected to eventually boost gasoline prices by 27 cents a litre. However, as is the case now, Ottawa expects to rebate much of the money to citizens, resulting in net gains for them if they find ways to reduce carbon emissions.

While the farm fuels used in equipment are carbon tax-exempt, fossil fuels used to ship and transport grain, heat barns and make nitrogen fertilizer are not.

Ottawa’s plan calls for investment of $165.7 million over seven years to support the agricultural industry develop “transformative clean technologies” and to help farmers adopt “commercially available clean technology.”

“Besides this fund we have also announced in this plan… more than $350 million through the National Climate Solutions and the Agriculture Clean Technology programs so there are a lot of programs to help farmers access these new technologies,” Bibeau said.

“The ‘living labs’ is a good example. We’ll invest more because we found it was important to have research scientists and producers working together in the field and it was the best way also to make sure their findings are shared and multiplied. Through the same plan there will be a lot of support for farmers.”

The government is also considering “border carbon adjustment” to keep Canada competitive.

“Border carbon adjustments level the playing field across jurisdictions: they put a carbon fee on imports from countries that either do not have carbon pricing or price it too low so that those products face the same costs as those supplied by domestic producers who pay a price on carbon pollution,” the government’s report says.

“As such, border carbon adjustments can help maintain competitiveness while also encouraging other countries to step up and take effective action to reduce emissions.

“The government of Canada will work with like-minded economies, including the European Union and Canada’s North American partners to consider how this approach could fit into the broader strategy to meet climate targets while ensuring a fair environment for businesses.”

The report doesn’t say if such a policy is permissible under world trade rules. The strategy would presumably raise prices for Canadian consumers buying those taxed imports.

The report also doesn’t explain how applying a carbon tax on imports would make Canadian exports, including grain, more competitive.

— Allan Dawson reports for the Manitoba Co-operator from Miami, Man.

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Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Monday launched the fund, to flow through what’s dubbed the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program.

ACT, which is to be available until all its funding is allocated or the end of March 2021 at the latest, is meant to support “research, development and adoption of clean technologies through investments in, and promotion of precision agriculture and agri-based bioproducts.”

Eligible technologies, the government said, “will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generate a wide range of positive impacts, and promote sustainable and clean growth.”

ACT support will be offered in “non-repayable” contributions from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for projects delivered by provincial and territorial governments.

An ACT program guide will be available for applicants “in the coming weeks,” the government said.

The government in its release defined precision agriculture as “a farming practice that uses data gathering technologies to guide targeted farm management actions that improve the sustainability, efficiency and productivity of agricultural operations.”

Bioproducts, in the same release, were defined as “renewable products from agricultural waste and outputs.”

AAFC, in its release, cited Statistics Canada as estimating the clean tech sector covers over a quarter of a million jobs in Canada, with an average salary of over $90,000.

ACT, MacAulay said, “will contribute to Canada’s place as a world leader in agricultural clean technology, helping farmers to develop new and efficient uses of energy, while also protecting our environmental resources and mitigating climate change.”

MacAulay and Ontario MP Francis Drouin announced the program Monday at Terryland Farms, a dairy operation at St-Eugene in eastern Ontario.

Terryland, which since 2006 has used a biodigester to generate electricity and heat, is billed as the first farm in the province to sell power generated from ag waste back to the provincial grid.

The farm, Drouin said, “is a perfect example of what can be achieved with sustainable and clean technology practices.” — AGCanada.com Network

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