Fundraising campaign seeks $4 million to support new Elora dairy research facility
Friday, August 9, 2013
by SUSAN MANN
When it’s completed next fall, the new dairy research facility being built near the University of Guelph’s current Elora station will have room for 240 lactating Holstein cows.
Construction on the 172,000-square-foot facility began last week on a new site just down the road from the existing Elora research station, while a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the beginning of September, says Wes Lane, special adviser to the 2050 Dairy Industry Innovation Partnership. That’s the group working to raise $4 million from dairy industry stakeholders, such as equipment dealers, feed and other suppliers plus financial institutions, for the project.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario has already contributed $1 million, while the Ontario government, through the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, has committed $20 million towards the $25 million project. The facility is scheduled to be open in the fall of 2014.
Gabrielle Gallant, spokesperson for Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne, says by email the facility will be called the Livestock Research and Innovation Centre at Elora. The agri-food industry contributes $34 billion to Ontario’s economy and supports 710,000 jobs. “We know that this dynamic industry could grow even larger and that’s why OMAF (the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food) is focusing on supporting innovation through projects like this one.”
Lane, the former DFO communications director who retired this year, says “we’re reaching out to industry partners, stakeholders and anybody that’s involved in the dairy industry supplying goods and services to dairy farmers to become members of the partnership and contribute to the new research facility.” Individuals can also donate.
For example, a retiring dairy farmer who has sold his facilities “and wants to leave a legacy as a contribution back to the industry” can contribute, Lane explains.
So far, the industry innovation partnership group has had several meetings and discussions with potential contributors. They’re hoping to make some funding announcements soon, he notes. “We’ve had some pretty good responses so far.”
In addition to the lactating cows, the facility will have room for 48 dry cows as well as 300 calves and heifers. It will also feature a 24-stall climate controlled room to enable researchers to do intensive work on individual cows, including collection of fluid samples. There will also be a 24-stall rotary parlour “that will accommodate robotics, if and when they’re available,” he says. There are also plans to have an individual robotic milking unit for about 60 animals.
The facility will be devoted to “cow-side research, looking at things like cow comfort, nutrition and animal health” along with environmental studies, such as water usage and water conservation on dairy operations, he says. It is designed to address the research, education, training needs and priorities of the dairy sector for the next several decades.
Similar to the current research station, the new facility will have quota loaned to it from DFO. It will have enough quota to cover the 240 milking cows but Lane didn’t have an exact number for the amount of quota it will get.
The station’s milk, for the most part, will be shipped through DFO. But any milk from cows on special treatments or diets will be discarded in the liquid manure tank. Lane says 90 to 95 per cent of the milk the station produces will be marketed through DFO.
The proceeds from the milk sales go back to the facility and that helps pay for the station’s operation, he says.
Once the facility is built it will be operated by the University of Guelph. The university is also spearheading the facility’s construction and is working in conjunction with the industry innovation partnership group on fundraising. The fundraising for the research facility is part of the university’s Better Planet project. Lane says being part of that project enables people to get charitable tax receipts for contributions.
The current dairy research station is 43 years old. The new facility “is just replacing an older facility that needs to be updated so the researchers have access to the best technology,” he says. BF