Plastic has helped the automotive industry trim millions of kilograms of fuel-wasting weight from vehicles and keep production costs in check. But as the spotlight falls on other environmental aspects of car and truck manufacturing, the University of Guelph is showing leadership in creating eco-efficient materials that can further reduce costs and waste.
A mental health program for farmers, created by experts in the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph and funded by the Alliance, has received $385,000 from the Ontario government.
A veterinary and computer science research team led by professors Dr. Rozita Dara (School of Computer Science) and Dr. Shayan Sharif (Department of Pathobiology) has developed a system using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to detect outbreak locations and predict infectious diseases’ capacity to spread further.
A collaboration between U of G's Dr. George van der Merwe, professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Escarpment Laboratories, supplier of liquid yeast cultures for Ontario’s $1.4-billion craft beer industry, has led to new products, processes and technologies that will benefit the Ontario agri-food sector.
The numbers: Thirty-nine sensors send unique, animal-specific data points from the beef and dairy research centres to University of Guelph servers.
Dairy calves are an integral part of Ontario’s $2.2-billion dairy industry. Access to a world-class research and innovation system — including the Ontario Dairy Research Centre and six Alliance-funded projects over 18 years — resulted in better on-farm pain management practices during disbudding (the process of removing the horn bud in young calves for the safety of other cows and farm staff) and the licensing of a new pain management drug in Europe and Canada. Long-term Alliance investment helped identify and promote the new pain management protocol.
The Laboratory Services Division is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the Canadian Association of Laboratory Accreditation to the International Organization of Standardization standard 17025 (ISO/IEC 17025:2017).
The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance creates impact by directing the efforts of our people, places and programs toward six key outcomes that support the agri-food and rural sectors—at home and around the world.
The Alliance’s annual report, Growing Ontario Solutions, highlights the stories behind the numbers, including how Alliance-funded programs and research have:
Plant agriculture professor Jayasankar Subramanian and his team are developing new technologies to decrease fruit spoilage, part of Ontario’s annual food waste that costs a total of $12 billion per year.
