The federal government has provided $6 million in funding for a research network that will explore how to better use wheat distillers grain.
“Our government wants to help farmers succeed and a big part of that success depends on Canadian farmers being able to access new and value-added markets,” said Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Brad Trost, who made the announcement on behalf of federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz.
Scott Wright, executive director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Feeds Innovation Institute, will be leading the group of 63 Saskatchewan and Alberta university, industry and government researchers who will comprise the network.
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While the Jan. 23 funding announcement marked the official beginning of the group, it has been operating since October.
“It’s a network that hits the ground running,” said Wright.
Millions of dollars have been invested in corn distillers grain research but that isn’t applicable to the plants emerging in Western Canada. The Feed Opportunities from the BioFuels Industries project will be the first wheat distillers grain research of its kind.
Researchers will conduct nutritional evaluations of wheat distillers grain and provide feeding recommendations for livestock operations.
“We’re looking to demonstrate how we can better utilize this product to make sure it is not being overfed, to take into account the high nitrogen and phosphorus contents of this material and to maximize nutrient use,” said Wright.
(See Feds fund study, page 2)
The network will also work with ethanol companies to evaluate what impact the various steps in their production processes have on their byproduct and how the feed ingredient stacks up against competitive feed products sold in domestic and international markets.
Fermentation processing and fractionation technologies will be explored with the aim of creating novel byproducts like a high-protein feed for the aquaculture industry.
And there will be some breeding work to create spring wheat lines that maximize ethanol yields while reducing fermentation time and viscosity.
The network is partnering with five ethanol producers – Terra Grain Fuels, Pound-Maker, NorAmera BioEnergy Corp., North West Bio-Energy Ltd. and Highland Feeders Ltd.
Noticeably absent from the list is Husky Energy, Canada’s largest wheat ethanol manufacturer.
“Husky had made some strategic investments a number of years ago with the University of Manitoba,” said Wright.
The network made numerous attempts to bring the U of M into the fold but it was pursuing a separate proposal and declined to participate. Wright said the network is still attempting to get Husky on board with the project.
Karen Chad, acting vice-president of research at the U of S, praised the federal government for investing in the project.
“This $6 million investment will stimulate sustainable growth of both the livestock and the ethanol biofuel industries across Western Canada,” she said.
Chad said it is a unique multidisciplinary initiative involving academia from the U of S, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Agriculture Canada, Alberta Agriculture, Feedlot Health Management Services Ltd., Prairie Swine Centre Inc., the Saskatchewan Research Council and the Western Beef Development Centre.
The network comprises animal nutritionists, agricultural scientists, engineers, economists and policy researchers.
Wright said it is a three-year project, with the first fiscal year beginning March 31, 2008, so there are about two years remaining.
