$2 million in funding from the governments of Ontario and Canada will provide support for the LRIC over the next five years.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Image via Nancy Anderson/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo
The governments of Canada and Ontario have reached a $2 million funding agreement with the Guelph, Ontario-based, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC).
The agreement will provide support for LRIC’s activities on behalf of the livestock sector for the next five years through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
“This Sustainable CAP funding will help the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation drive innovation within the sector,” stated the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “The Government of Canada has been working hard to support livestock producers and processors in maintaining a profitable, sustainable, and competitive agriculture and agri-food sector.”
Added Lisa Thompson, the Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA): “Our government will continue to support the Ontario livestock sector by taking innovative actions to strengthen its production capacity, resilience, and sustainability.
She continued: “We value the work of the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation and look forward to continuing work with LRIC. The outcomes of this investment will make significant contributions towards the ambitious goals we have set out for the province’s agriculture and food sector in our Grow Ontario Strategy.”
This funding agreement will allow the LRIC to continue its work in several areas, including industry intelligence gathering, stakeholder engagement and collaboration, providing research services and activities supporting knowledge mobilization, and putting research into practice.
This agreement also helps support the Grow Ontario Strategy to strengthen the agri-food sector, fuel economic growth, ensure an efficient, reliable, and responsive food supply, and address ongoing agri-food sector vulnerabilities through innovations.
For LRIC members, this includes an end-to-end research management and support system, communication of research discoveries in the context of the realities of the livestock industry, creating collaboration and cross-sector opportunities, and identifying and raising awareness of emerging trends affecting the livestock industry.
“Ontario’s livestock industry is a key pillar of Ontario’s economy, environment, and food security, and we appreciate the provincial government’s ongoing support of our sector through the renewal of this critical funding agreement,” said Don Gordon, a dairy farmer and the LRIC Chair. “Our focus is to drive innovation in the livestock sector, and we value OMAFRA’s partnership in helping us achieve this shared vision, which is a central element of the province’s Grow Ontario strategy.”
LRIC’s founding members include the Beef Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Pork, Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Egg Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission, and the Turkey Farmers of Ontario. An additional 13 livestock organizations and businesses are partner members.
Established in 2012 with financial support from Ontario’s beef, pork, dairy, and poultry sector organizations and OMAFRA, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation’s mission is to drive innovation.
More information on the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation can be found at https://livestockresearch.ca/.