Genome Alberta has received $5 million for genomics research in the livestock and meat industry.
The funds, from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, were an-nounced May 9.
David Bailey, president of Genome Alberta, said the organization is now seeking applications for research projects.
“We’re looking for strong proposals that could be of benefit to the agri-food sector, so applications in terms of applying the technology is what we really would be interested in,” he said.
“It’s a broad area, when you talk agri-food. It could be in production, it could be in animal health, it could be animal welfare topics. Its cross-species so principally beef cattle, swine, dairy cattle. Those are the main ones that we’re involved with.”
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Bailey said funds might also be used to build on previous work done at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary, but that will depend on the applications Genome Alberta receives.
In a news release about the new funding, the provincial government said research is generally focused on four areas:
- improving the ability of livestock to handle disease, stress, drought, heat and cold
- reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production
- improving traits including meat quality, feed efficiency and wool production
- exploring the social, political, regulatory and economic issues surrounding genomics technology
Alberta agriculture minister Verlyn Olson said genomics is becoming more important to development in various livestock sectors. The technology was the focus of a recent workshop and is to be discussed at a round of Alberta town hall meetings that began May 14 and will continue into June.
“Genomics technology can enhance traditional breeding techniques without some of the genetic modification concerns often associated with biotechnology,” said Bailey.
Genomic tools allow breeders to evaluate breeding animals at a younger age and provide a more reliable way of knowing an animal’s positive and negative traits.
