Thanks to a $1 million investment from Canada Foundation for Innovation's College Fund, Lakeland College will purchase state-of-the-art crop and livestock research infrastructure over the next two years that will greatly enhance the college's capacity to support Alberta's agriculture sector.
The funds will be used to purchase equipment and technology that supports Lakeland's work to enhance crop and livestock production efficiency, productivity, sustainability and promote adoption by livestock and crop producers, says Francois Paradis, Dean of Applied Research at Lakeland.
He says that the infrastructure will strengthen the college's existing capacity in four core areas: individual animal feed intake and performance monitoring, animal and crop GHG emission monitoring, small plot crop research, and controlled environment agriculture for livestock feed
production.
The equipment will be used in research projects that evaluate livestock health, feed efficiency, reproductive performance, agronomic strategies for crop productivity, management of pests and disease, and sustainable farming practices. Specialized infrastructure that has or will soon be purchased includes:
- research plot combine, precision seed drill and precision sprayer for crop trials.
- feed intake bunks, smart water systems and virtual fencing systems to monitor feed and water intake for beef and dairy cattle research.
- monitoring systems to measure greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and crops.
- fodder infrastructure to grow sprouted grains as a source of livestock feed.
"With this new equipment and technology, our researchers, together with our industry, producer and community partners, will be able to gather real-time information that will help them make informed, data-driven decisions," says Paradis.
Many of the research projects supported by this funding will take place at Lakeland's Vermilion campus, home to the college's Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland lab. "A core component of Applied Research at Lakeland is student engagement and this equipment will provide training opportunities and skill development sought by industry," says Paradis.
Recognized as one of Canada's Top 50 Research Colleges, applied research at Lakeland College continues to grow thanks to the support of government, industry partners, funders and community collaborators. Lakeland is currently involved in 55 research projects focused on addressing real-world challenges in crops, livestock and ag technology, while giving students hands-on research experience that builds their skills.
Photo: Thanks to funding from the CFI's College Fund, Lakeland College's applied research team purchased a plot combine this year to harvest its more than 3,700 pulse, cereal and oilseed plots near the Vermilion campus this fall.
