Vol. 6, No. 2                                                                                                         August 2014

Welcome Readers!

In this issue of The Buzz, you will read about the latest Partnership-funded research and innovation, including Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) initiatives that ensure the Partnership outcomes reach those who can put them into action. You will also find information about upcoming events related to the Partnership.

Let's do the locomotion- chicken edition

 

Everyone wants a comfortable place to live - and chickens are no different. With financial support from the Poultry Cluster and University of Bern, Dr. Alexandra Harlander has also received OMAFRA-UofG tier II funding, which provides her with access to the Arkell Research Station. Harlander and five graduate students are focused on improving animal welfare by investigating how birds move in certain aviary systems. They have developed several structural arrangements to test chicken preferences which could inform the design of future aviaries and enhance poultry welfare conditions.
In This Issue
Heating up the greenhouse
  
Traditional boilers used in the greenhouse industry for heat and power predominantly run on natural gas or fuel oil and are impacted by fuel price fluctuations. To secure more sustainable energy sources for the greenhouse industry, Dr. Animesh Dutta and his research team have been working on a biomass-fired fluidized bed (FB) combustor which can use multiple biomass fuel sources with ranging moisture contents. In the next year, Dutta expects to complete construction of the combustor followed by integration and testing in a greenhouse setting.
 Six new KTT projects start this summer
  

This year marked the fifth call for proposals by the Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) Program with the goal of getting 'science off the shelf' and into the hands of those who need it. This year's six awarded projects not only encourage knowledge uptakefrom projects supported by the Research Program but will also investigate new KTT tools and methods that can be used to further advance current and future research knowledge.

Join our DVM students as they blog all externiship long 
 

Each summer Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) delve into practical experience during their Externship Course in a mixed practice. They visit farms to treat cows and horses, work with dogs, cats and all manner of companion animals while applying the skills they've gained through their studies.

  
This summer, five DVM students blogged about their perspectives in the Externship course and in creating engagement opportunities, they invite you to tag along to share their experiences. 
Something is tweeting at the Muck Crops Research Station
 
Not to be left out of the social media fun, the Muck Crops Research Station launched a Twitter account this spring, @MuckIPM, to provide growers, industry representatives and academic personnel with brief updates on the Station's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Tweets from this account will also communicate on important pest alerts, reminders of up and coming events, and other information that will be

helpful for producers working in the muck crop sector.  Join us on Twitter

at @MuckIPM!

Introducing the Gryphon's LAAIR
(Leading to Accelerated Adoption of Innovative Research)
 
Introduced just this winter, the Gryphon's LAAIR is a new program under the OMAFRA-UofG Partnership, which seeks to support faculty in commercializing their inventions and discoveries. Taking cues from popular entrepreneurial TV shows, the Gryphon's LAAIR challenges faculty to step away from the traditional grant writing process and pitch their ideas to a committee that includes industry expertise. This year will we will see these efforts to commercialize new research-derived technologies become a reality inaugural Gryphon's LAAIR call.
Watching the Livestock Research and Innovation Centre come to life
 
Work continues on the Livestock Research and Innovation Centre (Elora Dairy Facility) as we quickly approach fall and the expected completion date. This joint project between OMAFRA, Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), the University of Guelph, and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario will benefit research, education, training needs, and the priorities of the Ontario and Canadian dairy sectors ensuring a strong and vibrant future for this important agri-food industry. 
 

Follow along with the development and construction of the facility on the Elora Dairy Blog (http://eloradairyfacility.wordpress.com/ ) where updates and pictures will be posted.

 
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For more information on the OMAFRA - U of G Partnership Agreement, go to the website at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/omafra_partnership/en/index.asp

 

To subscribe, contribute or for more information, contact:

Sara Fisher (519-826-3802, [email protected])