USask leads livestock research with massive government investment

Seventeen USask-led livestock and forage projects are receiving funding from this year’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), a joint fund between the provincial government and the Government of Canada.

Included in that $4.7 million, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at USask received nearly $1.8 million as part of the renewal of a multi-year partnership to continue research and knowledge transfer programs to engage with industry producers. In addition, the Prairie Swine Centre also received funding in the amount of $2.15 million for the renewal of a multi-year research partnership supporting applied swine research and knowledge transfer initiatives.

The funding was announced on Wednesday by Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald and Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit. In total, 27 projects and partnerships across Saskatchewan received support from the ADF.

“This funding is a show of faith from all levels of government that the research undertaken here at USask will have a positive impact on Saskatchewan and the world,” said USask Vice-President Research Baljit Singh. “Our leading agricultural research helps set USask apart as a world-leading research institution.”

The ADF program is supported by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (S-CAP), a five-year (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities, and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

Projects that received ADF funding at USask include groundbreaking research into livestock animals such as chickens, cows, and bison, as well as innovative projects that explore topics in the economics and health and safety of agri-food production.

"USask researchers develop new knowledge, tools, and products and instil this new knowledge in the next generation of innovators. Our partnerships with funders allow us to be responsive to industry's needs and advance Saskatchewan’s position as a leader in agriculture,” said Dr. Trever Crowe (PhD), acting dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. "This support from the government and our industry partners enables the essential and interdisciplinary research needed to address relevant and current issues of food security, production efficiencies and policy.”

USask’s ADF funding recipients in livestock and forage research:

• Dr. Bill Biligetu (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Development of novel hybrid bromegrass cultivars for western Canadian beef and forage sector – $195,315 – Co-funded by Alberta Beef Producers, Manitoba Forage Seed Association, Results Driven Agriculture Research, Saskatchewan Cattle Association, Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission
• Dr. Bill Biligetu (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Enhancing the productivity and sustainability of alfalfa through the development of high yielding and high nitrogen fixing cultivar – $145,916 – Co-funded by Results Driven Agriculture Research, Saskatchewan Alfalfa Seed Producers Development Commission
• Dr. Eric Lamb (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – How long to wait? Forage recovery following intensive grazing – $83,577
• Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Innovative and sustainable platform enrichments to advance broiler welfare in Canada – $40,000 – Co-funded by Canadian Poultry Research Council, Saskatchewan Chicken Industry Development Fund
• Dr. Lifeng Zhang (PhD), College of Engineering – Development of green surface microbial decontamination and egg washing processes – $210,000
• Dr. Bryce Warner (PhD), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – Development of a sheep model to investigate Cache Valley Virus disease, antiviral immune responses, and vaccine countermeasures – $175,000 – Co-funded by Results Driven Agriculture Research, Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board
• Kathy Larson, College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Unpaid labour on Saskatchewan cow-calf operations – $66,000
• Dr. Susantha Gomis (PhD), Western College of Veterinary Medicine – Cholera toxin as a mucosal immunomodulator to control Salmonella colonization in broiler chickens – $97,500 – Co-funded by Results Driven Agriculture Research
• Dr. Kaidi Wang (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Plasma-activated water as a sustainable solution to control Campylobacter in poultry processing facilities – $207,000
• Dr. Jeffrey Chen (PhD), Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – MSX-1 – a novel bovine tuberculosis vaccine – $450,000
• Dr. Dinesh Dadarwal (PhD), Western College of Veterinary Medicine – One test, one result: Advancing reproductive loss diagnostics for small ruminants using the ReproSeq panel – $222,000 – Co-funded by Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board
• Dr. Flavia van Cleef (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Impact of annual forage species diversity on fermentation dynamics, digestibility, and nutrient utilization in rumen simulations – $206,724
• Dr. Trever Crowe (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Advancing sustainable bison production through grazing management and ecosystem services enhancement in Saskatchewan’s Prairies – $257,301
• Dr. Susan Detmer (DVM, PhD), Western College of Veterinary Medicine – Regional vaccine development for the control of influenza in pigs – $150,000
• Dr. Natacha Hogan (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Development and use of novel testing strategies to understand and mitigate toxicity of ergot alkaloids in beef cattle – $239,975 – Co-funded by Alberta Beef Producers, Saskatchewan Cattle Association
• Dr. Gregory Penner (PhD), College of Agriculture and Bioresources – Fine-tuning dry-rolled barley grain processing for finishing beef cattle – $139,007

S-CAP Partnerships:

• Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – Turning science into solutions: Strengthening communication and knowledge translation for producers through VIDO core funding – $1,797,313
• Prairie Swine Centre – Applied swine research and knowledge transfer program supporting Saskatchewan swine producers – $2,150,000