Bill Vanderkooi of Abbotsford won an award for excellence in innovation in agriculture from the Investment Agriculture Foundation (IAF) of British Columbia.
Vanderkooi is the president of the Bakerview EcoDairy Association and CEO of the Nutriva Group.
Designed to showcase the latest in dairy technology, the Bakerview EcoDairy features an on-site anaerobic digester, a robotic milker, comfort stall systems and innovations in the dairy’s lighting, ventilation and cow brushing systems.
The facility is also designed to promote agri-tourism and provides a learning environment through interactive tours.
“This award celebrates the innovators who help B.C.’s agriculture and agri-food industry stay on the cutting edge, for the benefit of all British Columbians,” said IAF chair Stuart Wilson.
Honourable mention went to Abbotsford’s Catalyst One On-Farm Anaerobic Digester, a facility currently under development to process manure and other organic waste streams to produce biogas and high quality fertilizer. It will be the first in B.C. to produce raw biogas that is upgraded to biomethane, a carbon-neutral fuel, and injected into the existing natural gas system.