B.C. egg farm getting federal funding for solar project

Earlier this year, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced federal support for four new projects related to developing and adopting clean technology by agri-businesses in B.C., including one initiative on an egg farm.

With this up to nearly $1.6-million investment under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program, farmers will be able to increase their competitiveness and reduce their carbon footprints while allowing innovators to develop new technologies with a positive environmental impact.

B JACK Farms, an egg farm in Abbotsford, will receive up to $70,457 to install a solar system and electric-powered farm equipment to reduce reliance on the electrical grid and gasoline fuel in the egg production process.

In addition to the funding to B JACK Farms, projects announced under the ACT – Adoption Stream include:

• Up to $1,333,761 for Lucent BioSciences Inc.’s laboratory at Simon Fraser University to develop sustainable solutions for crop fertilization;
• Up to $108,876 for Blueberry Junction in Abbotsford to install a solar system to reduce electrical grid consumption for their blueberry operation; and
• Up to $61,247 for Fresh Valley Farms in Armstrong to install a solar system and an electrical pivot irrigation system on their organic farm to reduce reliance on the electrical grid and gasoline fuel usage.

With these new investments, the ACT Program has supported 11 projects in British Columbia, representing a total of up to nearly $4.9 million.

“Our goal is to help the Canadian agricultural sector innovate and adopt clean technologies,” Bibeau says.

“This new Agricultural Clean Technology Program investment will help to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and leverage technology to be more resilient to climate change.”