Money for the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production will access new technology to make the industry viable, says official
Olds College will receive $1.75 million over three years for a new research facility aimed at livestock production.
The money is coming from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and was announced Sept. 7.
It will be used to further develop the Olds College Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production.
Toby Williams, acting director of the college’s Centre for Innovation, said the funding boost will allow the centre to expand its scope of projects.
“It’s essentially operating funding to build on some of the activities that Olds College has been involved in for several years,” she said.
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“The funding is mostly for people, so we can put our team together and that team will go out and really be able to reach out to producers in a way that we haven’t been able to in the past.”
Williams said the centre will continue and expand upon its work with feed efficiency and branch into such things as infrared thermography, needle-less injections, RFID tag technology and various animal welfare processes and procedures.
The college is now in the process of developing an advisory board of six to nine people. Williams said some people have already ex-pressed interest in being on that board and others are welcome to apply.
As for student involvement, one instructor has been given the job of involving students in the centre’s applied research projects, events and workshops, Williams said.
Dr. Allan Schaefer, formerly a researcher at the Agriculture Canada Lacombe research centre, has been hired as manager of the Olds TAC. Two other positions, business development and research technician, have yet to be filled.
In a news release, the college said the centre will give the livestock industry “access to new technologies that increase industry sustainability and producer viability.”
It will focus on cattle and sheep.
Stephen Scott, executive director for the Canadian Hereford Association, said the industry welcomed the initiative.
“Every year research is conducted on new products, or on new practices that can really make a difference to the profitability of the beef industry. Unfortunately the commercialization of research outcomes into new on-farm practices is a rare occurrence.
“The Technology Access Centre will be a place for producers to bridge the gap between the newest science and implementation of these practices on their own operations.”
The centre will operate within the college’s centre of innovation, which is its applied research arm.
Tanya McDonald, acting vice-president of Advancement at Olds College, said the new centre “will allow us to work directly with producers in helping solve problems faced in every livestock operation.”
