AAFC: Canada's New Government Invests $294,500 for Biofuels Production in Atlantic Canada

"Canada's New Government is stepping up to invest in biofuels initiatives that will have a positive impact on the environment as well as strengthen the agricultural sector and improve profitability for farmers," said Minister Strahl. "This biofuels pilot project is good for New Brunswick and will have positive results for Atlantic Canadian producers and agriculture industry as a whole."

Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI) provides farmers with the opportunity to participate in biofuels production. This pilot project will address the challenges of refining and marketing and allow smaller regions of rural Canada to participate more fully in the green economy. It will take place at Eastern Greenway Oils Inc., a new extraction and refining plant owned by four area potato producers.

The funding for the pilot is provided by the New Brunswick Agricultural Council ($217,500) and Newfoundland and Labrador Agri-Adapt Council ($77,000), through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI).

"Greenway Oils will lead the research and development for bio-diesel products that will significantly impact and improve many aspects of the agriculture industry in the Atlantic provinces," said Paul Vautour, co-chair of the New Brunswick Agricultural Council.

"This pilot will provide our industry stakeholders with reference information on the feasibility and performance parameters of bio-diesel fuel blends in Atlantic Canada," said Agri-Adapt Council Inc. chair Eugene Legge.

"Our primary objective is to identify a better cash crop for rotation with potatoes," said Eastern Greenway Oils Inc. business development manager Ray Carmichael. "We're trying to do that by developing the capacity for small-scale, community-based bio-diesel production."

Eastern Greenway Inc. also plans to use the meal byproduct from the oil extraction as a bio pesticide and organic soil amendment.

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