Sponsor

Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC)

Program

Call for Letters of Intent (LOI) [1]

Description

The CPRC Board identified three top priority categories among the CPRC Research Priorities for this call. Specific priority areas and desired research outcomes have been identified within the categories. The 2025 Call for Letters of Intent (LOI) [1] encompasses the top three research priorities that are identified below. This call does not preclude projects not in the top identified research categories.

Poultry Health

• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) management, prevention and control strategies, humane and safe depopulation methods
• Vaccine development
  • Inclusion Body Hepatitis (IBH); Enterococcus cecorum; aMPV, foodborne pathogen Salmonella strains; Campylobacter; Fowl adenovirus; Reovirus; HPAI; Necrotic enteritis; Infections laryngotracheitis (ILT); Coccidiosis (water administered)
• Development of control strategies for Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV)
• Investigation of the Fowl Adenovirus and IBH epidemiology as an emerging primary disease
• Meat Quality
• Mitigation and prevention strategies to reduce spread of diseases (e.g. IBH, waterline contamination, biosecurity, cellulitis, etc.)
• Strategies (e.g., vaccinations, medications, management practices) to prevent or treat Histomoniasis (Blackhead)
• Development of prevention and control strategies for reovirus, including improvements in diagnostics and vaccine strains and pain management techniques
• Salmonella E.
• Management strategies for reduced antibiotic use (e.g. Alternatives to antibiotics, and impact of reduced use on bird performance, welfare and environment)
• Economic viability of raising poultry without antibiotics and cost of replacement to antibiotics

Environment

• In-barn
• Sustainability/impact
• Manure management
• Carbon footprint/Lifecycle assessment (Strategies to reduce carbon and Greenhouse gas emissions on farm)
• Strategies to reduce heat and electrical costs during production

 Poultry Welfare & Behaviour

• Stocking density 
• Lighting programs
  • Impact of lighting duration and intensity on health and welfare
• Environmental enrichment
  • Development/identification of effective and sustainable enrichments and impact on welfare and behaviour
• Chick quality
• Assessment of air quality parameters on poultry welfare
  • When does ammonia impact bird welfare?

Funding Availability

Applicants should limit their requests from CPRC to a maximum total of $60,000. Industry dollars, whether from CPRC or other industry sources, must be matched with non-industry dollars at a ratio of at least 1:1. Higher leverage ratios are preferred.

Indirect Costs

To be confirmed.

Special Notes

Review process 

LOIs will be reviewed on the following criteria:

• Scientific concept and approach: 
  • The proposal must be scientifically sound, technically feasible, and promise either to generate new knowledge or to apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner. 
• Industry impact: 
  • The proposal must identify how the work will benefit the poultry industry, especially in terms of helping industry reach its research target outcomes, and should outline any additional potential social and/or economic benefits that will be realized in Canada. 
• Knowledge transfer and commercialization: 
  • The proposal should describe how outcomes of the work will be shared with the research community and how it might be utilized by industry, including suggestions on how the resulting technology might be commercialized. 
• Collaboration among scientists and institutions is encouraged and will be a consideration during the review process.

How to Apply

Please use the CPRC LOI form for your submission for the CPRC call. Instructions on completing the form are included in that document.

Please submit your completed application in Word format to info@cp-rc.ca [2] by 5:00 pm EST January 31, 2025. You will receive an email notification of receipt with two days of submitting your application. If you do not receive confirmation, please contact us.