The federal ag department made three industry announcements on July 22
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) made three industry announcements on July 22.
First, prior to Dairy Farmers of Canada’s (DFC) annual general meeting in Newfoundland and Labrador, Minister MacAulay announced $8.5 million of support for two DFC projects through the AgriAssurance Program of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).
About $500,000 of that funding will come over five years to advance sustainability and public trust in the dairy industry with the proAction quality assurance program, which ensures Canadian dairy farms maintain high production standards.
The remaining $3.5 million, also over five years, will be used in part to strengthen DairyTrace, Canada’s dairy cattle traceability program.
This program helps promote industry sustainability and helps prevent disease spread.
The second July 22 announcement came with support from the Ontario government.
Together, Ottawa and Ontario will contribute up to $538,000 through the Sustainable CAP to offer the Farmer Wellness Initiative to farm workers to support their mental health.
The Farmer Wellness Initiative is managed by the Canadian Mental Health Association and delivered by Agriculture Wellness Ontario.
It offers a suite of free programming and provides farmers, family members and farm workers with access to a free 24/7 phone line connecting them to specialized mental health support.
Of the total investment, about $178,000 will be geared to offering services in Spanish to better communicate with international ag workers.
The third piece of AAFC news from July 22 revolved around the Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge.
AAFC unveiled the 13 semi-finalists who are working to develop tools and technologies to reduce cattle emissions.
The semi-finalists include AbacusBio from Alberta, Semex from Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan and TerraWave Radar Solutions, representing Manitoba.
AAFC launched the $12-million challenge in November 2023 with 86 applicants from across the country being selected for the contest.
The semi-finalists will each receive up to $153,846 over the next eight months to develop prototypes of their solutions.
From there, 10 finalists will be selected in Spring 2026. Each of those will receive up to $500,000 to test their product’s effectiveness.
Those 10 finalists will compete for one of two grand prizes of up to $1 million. That announcement will come at the end of 2028.