The Government of Canada has announced a $87.5 million investment over four years to support 16 collaborative research projects involving 165 researchers from 30 different academic institutions across Canada that will contribute to a sustainable, profitable and resilient agriculture and agri-food sector.
As part of the federal announcement, the University of Guelph is receiving nearly eight million dollars for a project focused on lowering greenhouse gas emissions through improved nitrogen fertilizer. The Smart Agriculture Applied Research team at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology will be assisting the University of Guelph with research efforts.
“We’re excited to be contributing to this research project as a test site,” said Herman Simons, Smart Agriculture Applied Research Manager for Olds College. “We’re hoping to help establish a network of benchmark studies across Canada for whole-year measurements of N2O emissions and soil processes in fields with improved nitrogen management in coordination with behavioral and experimental economics studies of decision-making processes.”
The research teams and projects are supported by grants awarded through the NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative (SARI), a joint initiative between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).
“At the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, we’re uniquely positioned to connect research to the science and innovation priorities of Canada,” said Prof. Alejandro Adem, FRSC, President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). “We are pleased to partner with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative to initiate and accelerate the development of transformative solutions required for a sustainable and productive agriculture sector in a net-zero economy. Today’s announcement is another important piece of the puzzle in the fight against climate change. Congratulations to all the recipients.”
Last year, Olds College was ranked fourth in Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges according to Research Infosource Inc. Olds College was also the gold recipient of the 2024 Applied Research and Innovation Excellence Award from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) in April 2024.