$11.4 million invested in a third Dairy Research Cluster

SASKATOON  - Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) commends the federal government for the important investment announced this morning to the Dairy Research Cluster 3. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, made the announcement at the opening of DFC's Annual General Meeting in Saskatoon.

 

The Dairy Research Cluster 3 builds on the success of the Dairy Research Cluster 1 and 2 (2010-2018) to stimulate productivity, sustainability and profitability on farms, and to improve knowledge on the health benefits of milk and dairy products. Joint industry and government commitments to the Dairy Research Cluster 3 total $16.5 million, including the contribution of major partners such as Lactanet Canada and Novalait, and $11.4 million from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced today. 

 

"The investment provided to the Dairy Research Cluster 3 is essential to enable strong, robust and evidenced-based research material that ultimately helps dairy farmers increase efficiency of their farm practices, particularly milk production, animal welfare and sustainability," said Pierre Lampron, President of Dairy Farmers of Canada. "Results of these research projects will also contribute to expand knowledge about the health benefits of dairy products. Today's announcement is another important step towards ensuring the continuous improvement of our dairy industry."

 

"Innovation on Canadian dairy farms requires cutting-edge knowledge of world-class research. Novalait is proud to be a partner of the Dairy Research Cluster 3 to develop this knowledge. This important investment by Novalait in the quality of milk will benefit the entire dairy sector," said Charles Langlois, President of Novalait.

 

"The research funded as part of this cluster will help Canadian dairy farmers continue to benefit from the most advanced genetic technologies and to optimize genetic progress, with a focus on novel traits emphasizing health, longevity and efficiency, " said Barbara Paquet, Chair of Lactanet Canada

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.