Ottawa Announces New Program To Help Ag Related Companies

May 15, 2020

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the launch of a $100 Million Agriculture and Food Business Solutions Fund on Thursday.

The new fund through Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is being launched in partnership with Calgary-based venture capital firm Forage Capital Inc.

The fund is designed to help provide ag-related companies with the financial stability and flexibility they need to rebuild their business models during these challenging times.

"This type of investment fund will offer companies another option when faced with business disruptions," said Bibeau. "Through the application of flexible and innovative solutions, the investments will preserve jobs and strengthen food security for all Canadians."

FCC will be the sole investor in the fund, that will help support a wide variety of ventures from primary production, to agri-tech, manufacturing, packaging and distribution within the agribusiness and agri-food sector.

The primary goal of the fund will be to help return companies to a sound financial footing.

The fund will use innovative solutions such as convertible debt investments and other flexible financing solutions to help return companies to a sound financial footing.

Applications for the Agriculture and Food Business Solutions Fund will be assessed individually on their merit and will be supported to a maximum of $10 million.

In order to qualify companies will need to demonstrate an impact from unexpected business disruptions, the loss of a key supplier, temporary loss of a facility or permanent loss of critical staff or leadership.

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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.