Goal 2 - Research Institutes, Centres & Projects

SDG2

Research Institutes, Centres & Projects

Access to sustainable agriculture knowledge and technology

All of the research centres and facilities at the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences (ALES) incorporate aspects of sustainability into their work. They also provide knowledge exchange and networking opportunities to farmers and local food producers to improve sustainable farming practices. 

ALES organizes a number of provincial, national and international conferences and workshops on agriculture, sustainability and food that facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills and technology to local and national farmers and food producers. Through collaboration with researchers, local farmers and food producers can access university facilities (labs, technology, plant stocks and more) allowing them to improve sustainable farming knowledge and practices.

Banff Pork Seminar

The Banff Pork Seminar is a technology transfer meeting for the pork industry that has been held in Banff, AB since 1972. The conference program is coordinated by the Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science and the University of Alberta, in cooperation with Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and other pork industry representatives.

Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture

Each year the University of Alberta invites a speaker of international renown to present current research and updates in areas relating to soil science, agricultural production methods, and sustainable agriculture. Current students and faculty members as well as members of the public benefit from these presentations.

Dairy Research and Technology Centre

The Dairy Research and Technology Centre (DRTC) was established in 1997 as a joint venture between the University of Alberta, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development (AAFRD) and Alberta Milk. This union brings together the resources of all partners with the vision to be Canada's leading centre for excellence in dairy research, teaching and technology transfer. The DRTC’s mission is to develop knowledge and technologies which ensure the growth and sustainability of the Canadian dairy industry. The primary objectives of the DRTC are to:

1) Conduct research with a focus on:

  • optimizing production efficiency and sustainability

  • enhancing the nutritional quality of milk and value-added processing

  • enriching and extracting milk components that are beneficial for human health

2) Maintain excellence in teaching dairy nutrition, digestive physiology, production management, and milk and dairy product processing

3) Transfer information and technology to stakeholders in the dairy industry (including local farmers and food producers)

Food Safety & Sustainability Engineering (FSSE) Research Program

The Food Safety & Sustainability Engineering (FSSE) Research Program at the University of Alberta focuses on the development of advanced, green, sustainable technologies such as (atmospheric non-thermal plasma, LED processing and 3D printing/additive manufacturing of food) to improve food safety and the overall sustainability of food systems.

Livestock Gentec Events

Livestock Gentec is an Alberta Innovates Centre for research and commercialization of genomics technologies for livestock competitiveness and sustainability. Their research is shared with local farmers and food producers through education events and project participation.

Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch

The Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch is located within the Central Parkland Natural Subregion of Alberta and covers approximately 5,000 hectares, more than half of which is dominated by native vegetation characteristic of aspen parkland. The ranch was established in 1960 as a beef cattle breeding facility and is now home to a herd of approximately 850 head of cattle, each of which has been genetically sequenced. Researchers working at the Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch have access to ample accommodations as well as lab and storage space.

The Agri-Food Discovery Place 

Opened in June 2006, the Agri-Food Discovery Place (AFDP) pilot plant facility is part of the Agricultural Food & Nutritional Science Department (AFNS). This unique facility is the first in Canada to have a meat safety and processing research unit and solvent extraction capabilities that are housed under one roof but function as completely separate wings of the business and have separate air handling systems. The Agri-Food Discovery Place links research in food safety, agricultural technology and functional foods with industry collaborators (including local farmers and food producers) who help make agriculture more sustainable.

The Breton Plots

The Breton Plots research facility consists of two research areas: the Classical Plots and the Hendrigan Plots.

  • The Classical Plots, established in 1929, were the first research plots at the facility. These plots were designed to find a “system of farming suitable for the wooded soil belt.” The “Gray-Wooded” soils are now known as Gray Luvisolic soils and occur in the northern interior plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The largest area occurs in Alberta (20 million hectares), of which 5.7 million hectares are potentially arable. Today, the Breton Plots are a model of how diverse cropping practices affect typical Gray Luvisolic soils.

  • The Hendrigan Plots were named for Lou Hendrigan, a local farmer who believed the best agricultural system for the Gray soils was a continuous forage system, grown to feed cattle on a mixed farm. He thought the best forage for the area was a mixture of fescue grass, which is suited to the soil and climate, and a legume such as White Dutch Clover. The purpose of the clover is to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and supply it to the soil, and the grass adds organic matter, especially because of its large root systems.

Western Canadian Dairy Seminar

The Western Canadian Dairy Seminar (WCDS) was started in 1982 by University of Alberta professor Dr. John Kennelly , in collaboration with other founding organizations with a shared vision to support the growth and success of the Canadian dairy industry. The WCDS now draws more than 800 delegates from across Canada and the world (USA, Europe, and Asia) and is recognized as one of the premier dairy conferences in the world. This seminar is designed for dairy producers, extension specialists, researchers, and dairy service and supply representatives who want to improve their knowledge and decision-making abilities in dairy production and management. Each year a wide variety of topics are presented ranging from nutrition and reproduction to dairy policy and challenges facing the dairy industry.