Each year, the Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) makes a call to
the Canadian research community for proposals relating to our
industry’s priority research areas. This year, the call was made for
applications relating to:
Each year, the Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) makes a call to the Canadian research community for proposals relating to our industry’s priority research areas. This year, the call was made for applications relating to:
- Poultry Welfare & Behaviour
- Food Safety & Quality – Impact of Poultry Health & Disease
These priority areas cover a wide range of topics and have resulted in a large number of proposals; there were 32 in total, which is roughly twice the number received when calls for the same areas were made in the past. Notably, many of the proposals were submitted by researchers from whom the CPRC has not received applications before. Some were new poultry scientists and others were scientists from different fields entering some aspect of poultry science. This trend is ongoing and suggests that Canada is successfully building its capacity for poultry research – a goal that the CPRC shares with other organizations across the country that support poultry research.
The CPRC uses a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to assess the scientific merit of each research proposal. The call asked for short proposals, called Letters of Intent (LOI), that briefly outline the proposed research, expected outcomes and estimated cost. SAC members were assigned LOI that pertain to his/her specific expertise. Each LOI was scored by three assigned reviewers on a number of predetermined criteria, which are based on those accepted by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC, one of the three main federal bodies for funding research in Canada). SAC members met June 2 to provide justifications for their scores and to collectively reach an overall ranking for the LOI received. The CPRC would like to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work put in by this year’s SAC members and thank them for their efforts. They are:
- Dr. Hank Classen, University of Saskatchewan
- Dr. Joshua Gong, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Dr. Doug Korver, University of Alberta
- Dr. Steve Leeson, University of Guelph
- Dr. Ruth Newberry, Washington State University
- Dr. Andrew Olkowski, University of Saskatchewan
- Dr. Juan Carlos Rogriguez-Lecompte, University of Manitoba
- Dr. Shayan Sharif, University of Guelph
- Dr. Fred Silversides, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Information from the scientific review was forwarded to the CPRC directors, who are, in conjunction with their respective organizations, currently considering which proposals will receive support from the CPRC. Successful applicants will be invited to participate in full grant applications that will pursue government (and/or other) funds to match those awarded from the CPRC. No industry dollars awarded from the CPRC are released unless the proposal can secure additional funds from non-industry sources – one of the CPRC’s goals is to maximize the impact of the poultry industry’s investment in research by partnering with other organizations. Partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), for example, is being actively pursued.
Growing Forward update
On May 29, the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture, announced $158 million to support industry-led innovation initiatives through the Growing Canadian Agri-Innovations Program. The program will be delivered nationally by AAFC as part of the federal commitment to Growing Forward, the new agricultural policy framework. The program is designed to help Canadian farmers turn new ideas and technologies into viable market opportunities.
On June 1, Dr. Jacques Surprenant, Science Director, Livestock Production Systems, AAFC, presented to the CPRC the details of the program, with emphasis on the funding opportunities that may be of most interest to the poultry sector. The CPRC is investigating those opportunities. Dr. Surprenant was also present at the SAC meeting June 2. Part of that meeting was a discussion on the potential for individual research proposals to be integrated into one or more grant applications to Growing Forward. This application(s) would be made by the CPRC on behalf of Canada’s poultry sector and, if successful, could result in a 3:1 match of industry dollars for research – a significant multiplication of industry dollars. The CPRC continues to build the Canadian poultry sector’s relationship with the Research Branch of AAFC and embraces the opportunity to partner through Growing Forward. Where appropriate, the CPRC will also be considering partnering with other funding bodies, such as NSERC, to support poultry research in Canada. We will keep you up to date on our progress.
For more details on any the CPRC activities, please contact Gord Speksnijder at the Canadian Poultry Research Council, 483 Arkell Road, R.R. #2, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 6H8; phone 289-251-2990, fax 519-837-3584, e-mail info@cp-rc.ca or visit us at www.cp-rc.ca .
The membership of the CPRC consists of the Chicken Farmers of Canada, Canadian Hatching Egg Producers, Turkey Farmers of Canada, Egg Farmers of Canada and the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors’ Council. The CPRC’s mission is to address its members’ needs through dynamic leadership in the creation and implementation of programs for poultry research in Canada, which may also include societal concerns.
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