Canada lags in agri-food innovation funding [Video]

A news release announcing winners of the sixth annual Grow-NY Food and Agriculture competition landed in my inbox earlier this month. As a farm writer who writes about agri-food innovation in Canada and abroad, that topic always catches my attention.

The grand prize was awarded to a U.S.-based company called Unibaio, which uses natural polymers derived from shrimp waste to trap the active ingredients of pesticides and fertilizers and make them easier for plants to absorb.

Two runner-up prizes went to Pure Nano Tech, whose irrigation technology accelerates plant growth, and to UdderWays, a brushless udder technology that cleans and dries cow teats before milking. Four third-place prizes were also awarded.

Although impressive, …