Calgary company converts brewery waste into livestock feed

A Calgary company has set out to convert brewing leftovers into livestock feed to help farmers and ranchers.

aGRO Systems collects grain waste from 33 Calgary breweries, including Ol’ Beautiful, Cold Garden, Wild Rose Brewery, and Last Best.

Noting the grain waste would otherwise end up in a landfill, Victoria Ross, CEO of aGRO Systems, says she tries to connect with as many places as she can to repurpose the leftovers.

“Anytime there’s a new brewery that opens up, we usually have a conversation with them in Calgary,” Ross said.

She adds the result is more than just sustainable, “it’s really high in nutrition and it’s really, really affordable for [farmers] to use.”

Grain in a container at a farm with aGRO Systems. (Courtesy of aGRO Systems)

Victoria Ross, left, works with an employee at a farm with aGRO Systems. (Courtesy of aGRO Systems).

Victoria Ross works inside a facility with aGRO Systems. (Courtesy of aGRO Systems).

According to the aGRO Systems website, the Beer to Steer Spent Grain Removal program launched at the end of 2020.

One Alberta rancher says it’s changed his operation.

“It started [with] picking up a few totes of 1,200 lbs. a week, and it’s transitioned into a staple of how we feed our cows,” James Vanstaalduinen told CityNews.

Ross, who moved from B.C. to Alberta, founded aGRO Systems as part of an entrepreneurship project for her bachelor of commerce degree at the University of Calgary in 2015.

Since that time, the company has focused on sustainable food production; but Ross is also aiming to make life easier for farmers.

“When I first started doing research, nearly 50 per cent of Canadian farmers needed a second off-farm job just to cover the costs of production on the farm,” Ross said.

That statistic jumped out, partly because of a close connection.

“My dad was actually one of those farmers. He needed a second job while I was growing up, on top of being a rancher,” Ross said.

aGRO systems says it has repurposed more than 15 million pounds in waste. Ross says the company isn’t finished yet.

Cows eating feed on a farm with aGRO Systems. (Courtesy of aGRO Systems).