The facilities will occupy about 1,700 acres of land and are expected to open in spring 2018.
The new research opportunities will allow ranchers to keep their production practices at the highest level, says Ryder Lee, CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association.
“Saskatchewan ranchers are leaders in land and livestock management practices,” he said in a statement Friday. “With government and industry collaboration, we are able to accomplish even more.”
An investment of this size allows the university to focus on developing future leaders in the industry, says Peter Stoicheff, president of the University of Saskatchewan.
“We will better address the evolving demands of the beef consumers throughout the country while training the next generation of researchers, veterinarians, producers and policy makers,” he said during an announcement event on Friday, according to Global News.
A&W’s involvement with a Canadian beef initiative comes a few months after the organization seemed to upset local ranchers for suggesting Canadian producers couldn’t meet its standards.
That topic did come up during donation discussions, but all parties agreed moving forward was the best course of action, Mary Buhr, dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the U of S, told Global News.
“All of us – A&W, all our producer organizations – we’re all here for better beef,” she said.