Federal gov’t awards millions to ag-related climate change projects

Apr 17, 2024

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government rolled out the latest round of Agricultural Clean Technology Program funding grants last month with 29 Ontario farms and agribusinesses awarded $16.7 million.

Over 80 % of the most recently approved projects were located in Southwestern Ontario. The two biggest grants at $2 million each were for biogas technology upgrades — at Generate Upcycle London East Digester in London and at Stanton Farms in Ilderton.

Five Eastern Ontario outfits also made the most recent cut: Greenwood Mushrooms Development Corporation of Ashburn (north of Whitby) got almost $425,000 to install heat exchangers; Lakewinds Farm Ltd. of Beaverton (west of Lindsay) got more than $440,000 to install a biomass boiler and heat exchanger; Millspring Farms of Napanee and Midlee Farms of Osgoode both got close to $600,000 for new grain dryers; and multinational Ingredion in Cardinal got almost $714,000 for a heat recovery system. Twenty-one Eastern Ontario outfits have received funding since the program’s inception

Since 2022, 143 Ontario farms and agribusinesses have collected over $65 million in federal grant money to pay for climate change-fighting projects — everything from solar panels to gas-fired grain dryer expansions. It’s all part of the Liberal government’s $15 billion climate plan. Applications to the Agricultural Clean Technology Program “were prioritized by projects with the highest reductions in greenhouse gas, fertilizer emissions or methane emissions,” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada told Farmers Forum.

For-profit projects receive up to 50 % funding, to a maximum of $2-million. Funding rises to 60 % if owned in the majority by non-white owners; females, individuals 35 or under; and Indigenous groups.

Ontario projects awarded funding comprise a third of the 415 projects approved nationally at a taxpayer cost of $197.2 million since 2022. Most of the money has gone to install or improve technology at the involved farms and agribusinesses — so called technological “adoption” — with a smaller “research and innovation” stream allocated to demonstration projects.

While new applications aren’t currently being accepted for the most popular “adoption” side of the program, the department notes that any new intake period will be posted on the program website at agriculture.canada.ca/en/programs/agricultural-clean-technology-adoption-stream.

Meanwhile, the program’s research and innovation stream continues to accept applications.

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Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.