The purpose of the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative (the Initiative) is to support growth and productivity through innovation, advanced manufacturing, improved food safety and enhanced cyber security, and energy efficiency within the agri-food sector.

The Initiative will be delivered under three streams, as follows:

• Stream 1 – Agri-Tech Innovation (total Eligible Costs per Project less than $100,000)

• Stream 2 – Agri-Tech Innovation (total Eligible Costs per Project $100,000 and greater)

• Stream 3 – Agri-Tech Energy Costs Savings

The Grand River Agricultural Society (GRAS) launched the Rapid Response to Business Development (RRBD) Initiative to support their commitment to impact investing by creating long-term sustainability and fueling innovation in the Agriculture and Environmental sectors. The GRAS RRBD Initiative will provide up to $10,000 to support Ontario-based, agriculture, agri-food and agri-products businesses, as they work with established business connections to advance market opportunities and secure sales for their innovative products, processes or technologies.

The Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness (AMIC) Stream will provide financial support to advanced manufacturing companies with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises across Ontario. It will provide investments in:

• capital equipment

• technology adoption

• skills development

The types of support available include:

• funding support

• complementary services and support

The fund supports projects that:

• create jobs and build talent

• attract and encourage private sector investment

• help companies to adopt technologies that improve their competitiveness

• lead to business growth and broad positive economic impacts

• encourage innovation, collaboration, and cluster development

The Agri-Food Energy Cost Savings Initiative provides funding to agri-food processors who use technologies and processes to increase energy efficiency in their operations.

This cost-share initiative helps to support agri-food processors to:

• lower their overall operational costs

• be more competitive and sustainable

Our goal is to support projects that prioritize reducing greenhouse gas emissions by investing in new technology, equipment and building or facility modifications to help achieve this goal.

Support nature-based solutions to store and capture carbon, mitigate the impacts of climate change, improve water quality, and contribute to biodiversity on farms.Grasslands, Riparian Areas, Wetlands

The Meat Processors Capacity Improvement Initiative seeks to enhance the capacity processing capabilities within the province’s meat processing plants and abattoirs.

The Initiative will provide funding to eligible free-standing meat plants and abattoirs so they can make short-term investments in meat handling and processing equipment, technologies and practices that improve operational efficiency and productivity.

The Dairy Processing Modernization Initiative provides funding to dairy processors for equipment upgrades that make processing more efficient and/or improve food safety.

The Food Safety and Growth Initiative (the Initiative) provides funding to small agri-food businesses to:

• modernize their food safety systems

• adopt new food safety and traceability equipment, technologies and standards

• stimulate growth in the agriculture and food sector

Funding for the Initiative comes from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year (2023 to 2028) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Up to $5 million has been allocated for the Initiative.

The Cybersecurity Preparedness Initiative (the Initiative) provides funding for cybersecurity enhancements tailored to the specific and growing needs of agricultural marketing boards.

Funding for the Initiative comes from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year (2023 to 2028) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Up to $1.25 million has been allocated for the Initiative.

Equipment mods, nutrient management, Erosion Control, Adding Organic Amendments, Equip Teach to Enhance manure Storage, Basic Energy Use Assessment, Detailed Energy Audit(lev2),Energy Efficiency improv, Lg scale Energy Efficiency Improv.

Program Description/ Objectives: Support the environmental resiliency of agricultural landscapes by accelerating the adoption of Ecological Goods and Services (EG&S) Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs). Ecological goods and services are the benefits society derives from healthy functioning ecosystems and include the maintenance and provision of healthy soil and water resources, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Projects must provide incremental ecological goods and services benefits. The specific outcomes for the program include:
• Greenhouse gas emission reductions
• Improved soil health
• Increased conservation and restoration of critical wildlife habitat
• Strengthened resilience of agricultural lands
• Improved water quality The Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP) will primarily use an acreage-based payment approach and some activities will have multi-year agreements in place.

Program Description/ Objectives To foster the continued growth of the New Brunswick honey bee sector through the following elements: A. honey bee colonies, B. purchase or construction of bee hive equipment, and C. on-farm investment in equipment to improve efficiencies. The increase in the honey bee sector supports the pollination needs of the wild blueberry sector, including pollination of other agricultural crops.

Objectives: • To provide assistance for the establishment of new or more productive vineyards. • To assist with the adoption of new vineyard technologies and/ or purchase of specialized vineyard equipment that will improve grape production practices in New Brunswick (NB).

Program Description/ Objectives To encourage and support New Brunswick fruit and mixed vegetable producers who want to increase production by providing financial assistance for: 1. adopting season extension and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies; 2. enhancing storage capacity; and 3. investing in on-farm equipment to improve efficiencies or build production capacity.

Program Description/ Objectives To support crop and livestock development opportunities including: • Economic development programming for sectors with growth opportunities. • Regional economic development opportunities. • Establishing agricultural machinery usage cooperatives

Assist producers in taking concrete steps to improve the environmental performance of their operations including activities to conserve and enhance the natural resources utilized by the New Brunswick agriculture industry, minimize the environmental impact of agricultural activities, and mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Support innovation, competitiveness, and improvement in efficiency and quality in new and existing agri-food processing and manufacturing companies that seek to advance their operations in the following program elements: • Production improvement and processing capacity expansion – supports the value-added agri-food processors and manufacturers with equipment modernization activities that will increase efficiency, quality, productivity, and competitiveness. (i.e., the purchase of specialized and/or automated equipment). • Manufacturing Processes Efficiency and Analysis - supports the review of the facility’s current production methods and identifies where efficiencies can be gained, or new technologies adopted to increase productivity.