Federal ‘climate action’ grants are a huge hit with Alberta producers

Jun 01, 2023

Alberta farmers love Ottawa’s “climate action” program so much that applications have been paused until late summer.

“It’s a pretty lucrative program and people were actually aware of it this year,” said Johanna Murray, extension coordinator with Peace Country Beef and Forage Association.

“There were people who didn’t get around to applying last year because the advertising wasn’t as good as it could be, and they couldn’t get on it too quick.”

“I’m not surprised the program is closing early,” added Sonja Bloom, environmental coordinator with the Foothills Forage and Grazing Association. “I know it was quite popular when it opened.”

Those two farmer-led research groups and their sister organizations have been putting on workshops and webinars to help farmers tap into the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. It covers 85 per cent of the cost (up to $75,000 per farm) for projects to implement rotational grazing, cover cropping or more efficient use of nitrogen fertilizer.

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Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.