Ag Minister MacAulay announces $25 million "clean technology" program

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Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay visited a dairy farm near St-Eugene, Ontario on Monday morning to announce $25 million for the “Agricultural Clean Technology Program.”

“This investment will help Canadian farmers stay on the cutting edge of clean technology by targeting developments in bioproducts and precision agriculture,” said the minister.

“Our government has made both agriculture and clean technology a priority for growth in our economy. This new program will contribute to Canada’s place as a world leader in agricultural clean technology, helping farmers to develop new and efficient uses of energy, while also protecting our environmental resources and mitigating climate change.”

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says the program will launch on April 1, 2018, with more details to be published in the coming weeks. The funding will be dispersed over three years.

MacAulay says the funds will be targeted at “bioproducts and precision agriculture.” AAFC defines bioproducts as “renewable products from agricultural waste and outputs.” The department describes precision agriculture as “a farming practice that uses data gathering technologies to guide targeted farm management actions that improve the sustainability, efficiency and productivity…”

Provinces and territories will be eligible to apply for funding through the federal program, and are “encouraged to work with industry on projects that focus on precision agriculture and/or bioproducts.”

The government says this program will complement AAFC’s existing $27 million Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program, which is designed to support GHG mitigation on farms.

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