Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison announced $3.4 million over 4 years to support the development of 2 new facilities at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) which includes the Omics Resource Centre at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and Beef Reprotech facilities at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE).
The investment will be delivered through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) as part of the governments' commitment to support partnerships with strategic agricultural research organizations.
The new initiative, called IntegrOmes (Integrated Genomics for Sustainable Animal Agriculture and Environmental Stewardship), will advance beef genetics by matching genomic markers with desirable traits and evaluate reproductive efficiencies. This integrated approach will enable producers to make more precise and data-driven breeding decisions that improve livestock productivity in Saskatchewan.
The IntegrOmes project will address issues of beef cattle production and reproductive efficiency, animal health and the environment through the adoption of genomic tools. Saskatchewan producers will benefit from having access to these tools to stay competitive in the domestic and international market.