Agriculture Roundup for Friday May 17, 2024

Novel Technologies Streams under the Food Waste Reduction Challenge has selected two businesses to receive financial support.

Clean Works Inc. and Genecis Bioindustries Inc. will each receive up to $1 million to help accelerate development of their technologies into the Canadian market.

Clean Works is a St. Catharine’s-based company that developed a solution that uses hydrogen peroxide, ozone and UV to control mildew and micro-organism growth in pre-harvest fruit and vegetables. This allows the shelf life of produce to be increased by up to 20 per cent.

Toronto -based Genecis Bioindustries developed a specialized bacteria that transforms food waste into compostable bioplastics. Over the last three years, the company has diverted over 2.1 tonnes of food waste from the landfill, allowing them to produce around 5,000 tonnes of environmentally friendly bioplastic at their Toronto facility each year.

The Food Waste Reduction Challenge, launched in November 2020, supports high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada.

The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) is working on its first agricultural risk assessment and is looking for input from the ag community.

The report will identify the biggest threats to Canada’s agri-food system and start conversations about agriculture and food. The results will used in discussions on public policy.

The more responses CAPI gets from grain producers, the more reliable and influential the report will be.

The survey takes about twelve minutes to complete and is open until May 23. You can fill it out here.

The Wheat Growers Association continues to urge the federal government to take immediate action to prevent a shutdown of the Canadian rail system caused by a union-led strike.

Over the past dozen years, there have been more than ten major rail stoppages due to union actions, in addition to numerous minor ones. Each instance has had adverse effects on everyone involved in the food supply chain – from farmers and exporters to processors and consumers.

The Wheat Growers Association added farmers rely heavily on the movement of grain, fertilizer, and other inputs by rail. When both railways stop working, it severely disrupts the supply chain, leading to significant challenges for farmers, exporters, and our global customers. When grain deliveries stop, grain exports stop, undermining our reputation as a reliable exporter.

Transport Minister Seamus O’Regan has requested a safety review from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, but the group believes this is merely a temporary measure that fails to address the root cause of a potential major disruption.