Harper Government announced the signing of a letter of intent with Ceapro Inc. to complete the breeding process, to test, and to register a specialty oat variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for Ceapro's use in its oat compound extraction process. The new variety was tailor-bred by AAFC for use with an AAFC-patented malting technology that dramatically increases the quantities of a compound that has antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. The soothing compound is only found in oats and has the potential for use as an ingredient in neutraceutical products.

AAFC announced the sole licensing of the malting technology to Ceapro Inc. in May of this year. This new hulless oat has a unique shape that is more conducive to milling and processing to extract its beneficial compounds. The combination of the malting technology with this specialty oat will help dramatically improve the efficiency and lower the costs of delivering this product to market to the benefit of farmers and consumers.

The letter specifies that Ceapro Inc. will cover all the costs of production, registration, and protection of the oat variety with an eye to negotiating a sole variety license before March 31, 2015.