Tier 2 Projects

Optimizing environmental and economic outcomes for Ontario forage cropping systems


Lead Applicant: Kim Schneider

Research Priority: Sustainable Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Crops Research Centre - Elora

Research Summary: Exploring how different forage management practices (with a focus on fertility) affect yield and quality of various Ontario forage mixtures.

 

Vegetable crop management and variety evaluation


Lead Applicant: Rene Van Acker

Research Priority: Plant Health & Protection

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Crops Research Centre - Simcoe

Research Summary: Evaluating current and new fungicides to manage downy mildew in vine crops and exploring potential pest management approaches that could be used with existing tools.

 

Weed control in processing vegetables


Lead Applicant: Darren Robinson

Research Priority: Plant Health & Protection

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Crop Research Centre- Ridgetown

Research Summary: Examining weed control and tolerance to herbicides on vegetable crops for which those herbicides are not currently registered.

 

Analysis of rubber yield selection gain in Russian Dandelion


Lead Applicant: David Wolyn

Research Priority: Innovative Products & Product Improvement

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Crops Research Centre - Elora, Simcoe, and Woodstock

Research Summary: Comparing Russian Dandelion populations (plants bred for desirable traitrs) to assess the potential for future breeding and yield stability in Ontario

 

Individualized feeding strategies for dairy cows milked in robotic systems


Lead Applicant: Trevor DeVries

Research Priority: Competitive Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Dairy Research Centre - Elora

Research Summary: Generating new knowledge about individual variability in behaviour as the basis for developing precision nutritional strategies for dairy cows.

 

The impact of biochar supplementation on enteric methane emissions and the relationships between methane and feed efficiency in beef cows


Lead Applicant: Katie Wood

Research Priority: Competitive Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Beef Research Centre - Elora

Research Summary: Improving the understanding of feed efficiency and methane emission measures in beef cattle and investigating whether a form of activated charcoal (biochar) can help to improve methane emissions in Ontario beef herds.

 

Improvement of functional horticulture through cultivar evaluation and testing of new products


Lead Applicant: Eric Lyons

Research Priority: Competitive Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: NA

Research Summary: Testing innovative products, cultivars and management methods of horticultural plants to maximize quality, environmental benefit and competitiveness.

 

Combined effects of diet and physiological stressors (transport and exercise) on gastrointestinal permeability (i.e., "Leaky Gut Syndrome") in horses


Lead Applicant: Wendy Pearson

Research Priority: Animal Health & Welfare

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Arkell Equine Research Facility

Research Summary: Examining the effects of transport and exercise on leaky gut syndrome in horses and exploring the effects of a dietary supplement on their gastrointestinal function.

 

Supplementing glycerol to transition dairy cows to improve metabolic status and productivity


Lead Applicant: Trevor DeVries

Research Priority: Animal Health & Welfare

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Dairy Research Centre - Elora

Research Summary: Determining whether supplementing dairy cows prior to and after calving with glycerol, a sugar alcohol,  improves metabolic health, rumen stability, and productivity.

 

Non-lethal transcriptional profiling of growth in rainbow trout


Lead Applicant: Nicholas Bernier

Research Priority: Animal Health & Welfare

Program Type: Tier 2

Funding Cycle: 2020/2021

Research Centre: Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre

Research Summary: Validating a new genetic tool for monitoring the growth and health of fish in aquaculture settings and determining the usefulness of repeated tissue sampling that does not kill the fish.