The project is a partnership between AGT Foods and Lucent Biosciences, with additional funding from the Protein Industries Canada supercluster.

Soileos is being promoted as an environmentally friendly product, consisting of pellets that bind micronutrients to cellulose and uses the soil’s natural biological activity to release nutrients to the crop as required.

Production is occurring in a repurposed AGT Foods building—about one kilometre north of Rosetown—that was at one time decommissioned. The two companies say their product will boost yields using the same amount of nitrogen fertilizer while also lowering the carbon intensity of the agricultural cropping system. (lower carbon emissions)

When the Rosetown facility reaches full capacity, it will be able to produce up to 7,000 tonnes of Soileos per year, which would be able to cover between 1.2 and 1.5 million acres.

(Photo courtesy of Ryan Young/CKRM)