Support for British Columbia agricultural businesses

August 17, 2022 - Victoria, British Columbia - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The following 10 projects received more than $1 million in funding from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership under the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program, delivered by the B.C. Investment Agriculture Foundation. This brings the total funding to over $11.3 million since the program began in April 2018.

Amphoraxe Life Sciences Inc., Vancouver, B.C.

• $247,499 to isolate yeast strains suitable for the biosynthesis of antimicrobial peptides (“AMPs”, which are proteins which can replace antibiotics in poultry farms) and use this biosynthesis to increase AMP production

Dicklands Farms, Chilliwack, B.C.

• $165,000 to design and assess the economic feasibility of a low-emission dairy barn

Docantheon Horticulture, Victoria, B.C.

• $15,000 to develop a covered, three-wheel electric powered mini-tractor to increase worker productivity, by decreasing the physical strain of planting and harvesting crops

Elk Root Conservation Farm Society, Slocan Valley, B.C.

• $33,750 to construct and pilot a user-friendly beehive accessory which improves the ease and efficacy of Integrated Varroa Mite Management

E.S. Cropconsult Limited, Surrey, B.C.

• $6,374 to test organic-approved herbicides as potato top-kill methods through field applications, comparing efficacy and cost with other organic-approved methods

Geotronics Consulting Inc., Okanagan, B.C.

• $192,022 to control irrigation output in vineyards and reduce water usage using a sub-surface precision irrigation system

Heppell’s Potato Corp., Surrey, B.C.

• $179,762 to implement large fruit and vegetable automated sorting technology to increase production capacity, while testing the efficacy of calibrating the sorting technology for multiple species/varietals at once

Okanagan College, Kelowna, B.C.

• $62,950 to design, construct and pilot an algae bio-reactor which can sequester the CO2 produced by fermentation during the production of beer, wine and spirits

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

• $65,000 to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers in vineyards and to optimize vineyard productivity by combining variable rate fertilization with vine yield and fruit quality analyses
• $68,992 to evaluate the biochar's ability to improve soil water and nutrient retention and carbon storage while maintaining crop yields in water stressed agricultural areas

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