Nine new projects have been funded under the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) 2024 call for proposals.
BCRC funding to the nine projects totals $1.43 million. Each project brings funding from other sources, leveraging producer funding with over $3.1 million.
Funding decisions are made by the BCRC's producer council based on priorities identified in the Canadian Beef Research and Technology Transfer Strategy.
“Applied research is important to help producers make on-farm decisions and implement strategies that improve producer productivity and profitability,” says Craig Lehr, BCRC chair and Alberta beef producer. “Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and antimicrobial resistance are ongoing issues for the Canadian beef industry. Projects investigating causes and transmission of BRD pathogens and antimicrobial resistance will help inform future prevention and treatment practices.”
Research under this call was co-funded with Results Driven Agricultural Research (RDAR).
Projects include:
- Understanding how Mycoplasma causes respiratory disease. Project Lead: Dr. Jeff Caswell (University of Guelph)
- Are there more bacteria involved in spreading bovine respiratory disease and antimicrobial resistance? Project Lead: Dr. Tim McAllister (AAFC Lethbridge)
- Can supplementation early in the feeding period help correct copper deficiency and improve health outcomes in newly-arrived feeder calves? Project Lead: Dr. Cheryl Waldner (University of Saskatchewan, WCVM)
- Surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance in Canadian feedlot cattle. Project Lead: Dr. Sheryl Gow (WCVM/PHAC)
- Synergistic rumen microbial consortia: A probiotic approach to augmenting feed utilization efficiency. Project Lead: Dr. Tim McAllister (AAFC Lethbridge)
- Effect of divergent fibre digestion efficiency on growth performance, methane emissions, and carcass characteristics of beef cattle, and its association with the host genetic/genomic makeup. Project Lead: Dr. Gabriel Ribeiro (University of Saskatchewan)
- Can we use laser technology to develop a rapid feed test? Project Lead: Dr. Nii Patterson (National Resource Council)
- Battling biofilms. Project Lead: Dr. Kim Stanford (University of Lethbridge)
- Remote ante- and postmortem meat inspections using augmented-reality live-stream video software. Project Lead: Dr. Argenis Rodas-González (University of Manitoba)
The BCRC is Canada’s national industry-led funding agency for beef, cattle and forage research. The BCRC’s mandate is to determine research and development priorities for the Canadian beef cattle industry and to administer Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off funds allocated to research.
The BCRC is funded in part through a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off which is then leveraged with government and industry partner funding.