By Cate Willis
A collaborative project between the University of Guelph's Research Innovation Office (RIO) and Innovation North, a research-practice initiative at Western University’s Ivey Business School, aims to create a more resilient and sustainable livestock production industry.
The “Sustainable Agri-Food Futures” is a multi-year project in its second phase focused on solving key problems in livestock farming. Using Innovation North’s systems innovation Compass, the team seeks to tackle pressing issues in livestock production.
“The Compass is an innovation tool designed to help people collaboratively tackle systems challenges by setting a North Star, digging deeply into the problem and broader system, and generating ideas for taking action,” says Elizabeth Miller, postdoctoral associate at Innovation North. “We are using it to identify critical issues in livestock production, organize workshops for diverse actors in the space, and foster collaborative efforts to enhance the sector's resiliency and sustainability.”
From November 2023 to February 2024, Innovation North conducted a comprehensive problem-scoping process that included online research and stakeholder interviews. Four key problem areas in livestock production emerged from this: biosecurity, farm infrastructure, livestock health information and care and climate change.
“Understanding and adapting to changing environmental conditions will be critical in sustaining the long-term viability of livestock farming,” says Miller.
In March 2024, the team facilitated a workshop at the University of Guelph with key partners in livestock production, aiming to explore future visions, discuss key problem areas and generate innovative solutions to address these challenges.
The workshop helped to identify three overarching themes – education, technology and data – as critical areas for addressing the challenges in livestock production.
Proposed solutions focused on enhancing agricultural education, improving access to technology and establishing clear data governance.
By focusing on biosecurity, farm infrastructure, health information and climate change, the projects aim to develop targeted solutions that improve animal welfare, farm efficiency and long-term viability in the face of evolving environmental challenges.
Attendees were also provided with the opportunity to further develop these ideas into a proposal for this year’s Amplifying Research Impact Fund (ARIF). The ARIF will fund three, one-year proof of concept projects for up to $40,000, funded by Food from Thought. This seed funding intends to better position these initiatives to apply for additional funding in the future to positively impact soil health in Canada.
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Food from Thought is a research program at the University of Guelph funded in part by a $76.6-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Food from Thought will position Canada as a global leader in the development of innovative solutions that improve both the sustainability and productivity of agricultural production at global, landscape, and micro scales.