Ontario livestock groups launch new research corp and unique partnership model

By Debbie Lawes

Declining public dollars for agricultural science have given birth to a new collaborative model for livestock research that will see Ontario producers sharing the cost of expensive infrastructure and taking a more hands-on role in deciding research priorities. RE$EARCH MONEY has learned that dairy, beef, poultry and swine producers have created a new umbrella organization — called the Livestock Research Innovation Corp — to negotiate with government and academia on key issues in their sector relating to research priorities, faculty appointments, research infrastructure and equipment purchases.

LRIC's first initiative is a tripartite partnership with the Univ of Guelph and Ontario Ministry of Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to build a new livestock research complex about 20 km north of Guelph. The new dairy building will cost $25 million, with industry contributing $5 million. Parties expect to have a final agreement in place before year end with construction slated to begin early next year.

"Things have changed with respect to research infrastructure," says Ralph Dietrich, who represents the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) on LRIC's board. "Gone are the days when government did everything and financed the complete package. There needs to be a greater level of involvement and investment from the benefiting partners."

LRIC's inaugural board met earlier this week to discuss priorities and how to expand its membership to all livestock commodity groups in the province, including goats, rabbits, veal, emus, fish and sheep. The funding and governance models developed in the dairy phase will provide the framework for modernizing research facilities for beef, swine, poultry and other livestock commodities over the next five to 10 years.

Dietrich says a structure will be developed to ensure members directly benefit from any research. "We're still working on what manner that will be. We have several ideas."

The new livestock research centre will upgrade and expand the 40-year-old Elora Research Station, one of 17 provincially owned Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) facilities operated by U of G under a longstanding partnership agreement with OMAFRA. Its model will differ from the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre near St. Catharines ON, which was established by the provincial government in 2007 as an industry-led, not-for-profit research institute. In contrast, the new centre in Elora will continue to be owned by Ontario, operated by U of G and governed by a board of directors comprised of representatives from the province, U of G and LRIC.

model increases leveraGE potential

Working as a consortium — as opposed to independent, separate organizations — will make it possible to leverage federal funds and private research dollars that were unavailable to the research centre in the past. For example, in September Agriculture and Agrifood Canada announced a 50% increase in government cost-shared investments as part of its Growing Forward 2 policy framework for agriculture, including support for innovation clusters.

"As the cost of science increases, leveraging funds becomes extremely important," says ARIO chairman Stewart Cressman. "When the LRIC CEO is announced (sometime this month), a prime role will be looking for new funding from commodity groups and government to grow the pie."

ARIO plans to take a similar approach to several of its other research stations across the province. "In some cases we're talking bricks and mortar, in other cases virtual centres that can respond and change as needs of our stakeholders change in the future," says Mike Toombs, director of OMAFRA's Research & Innovation Branch and GM of ARIO.

Ontario is among the top three largest food processing centres in North America and its 17 research stations are considered critical to the growth and competitiveness of a sector that has so far proved recession-proof.

"We cannot be low-cost producers because of higher labour costs, our large land mass and winters, but we can be a very high quality food producer for high end markets and with a quality that is unsurpassed. This is all underpinned by our collective research," says Toombs.

With access to about 240 dairy cows and an equivalent amount of replacement animals such as non-milking heifers, researchers will focus on: human health; food safety; animal welfare, productivity and reproduction; new products and procedures; and, bioengineering and renewable energy.

The centre will study ways to use resources such as feed, water and energy more efficiently, and facilitate the development of new "rural knowledge centres" for bio-based products and green technologies. The existing Elora station has already produced several notable technology successes, including new milk and egg products high in omega 3 fatty acids.

"This is a 35-40 year investment so you need long-term commitment from each of the partners so you don't end up building a white elephant," says Cressman. "That's why we need the commodity groups embedded in the process as partners from day one and we need to temper the needs of researchers for blue sky thinking with what is needed by stakeholders."

As Ontario's largest agricultural school, the U of G will be responsible for conducting the lion's share of research at the new facility. It will continue to receive a milk quota from the DFO, which generates about $1 million annually to help offset operating costs at Elora.

For the U of G, the partnership is an opportunity to share the cost of expensive research infrastructure, while maintaining a critical mass of specialized expertise over the long term. Universities currently conduct about 80% of new R&D in the agricultural sector, most of it funded through the tri-council agencies.

"I cannot think of a better example of an emerging new model than what we're doing with this dairy infrastructure and programming research initiative," says Rich Moccia, U of G's associate VP of strategic partnerships. "If we can make this work, we will have sustained investment in the necessary infrastructure and intellectual capacity to drive an innovation agenda for research that will create jobs, wealth and make the sector more competitive — and without trading our soul as a university to pursue the academic and scholarly freedom which researchers need to be creative."

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