East Central Reporter

Lakeland College ranks 33rd overall on Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges list in the 2022 rankings compiled by Research InfoSource Inc.

Research InfoSource Inc. surveyed post-secondary institutions across Canada, analyzing research income, funding and partnerships, as well as the number of faculty and students involved in research in 2020-21.

Lakeland sits in second place in the annual survey for college research income growth. In 2020-21, Lakeland’s research income grew 251.8 per cent. Lakeland ranks 19th in the survey in the area of college research intensity funding per researcher.

“We’re excited to share the results of this national survey with our team and many partners. It reflects the incredible progress Lakeland’s applied research department has made in growing our team, our capacity for projects and overall investment in research that’s relevant to both producers and industry,” says Dr. Todd Sumner, Lakeland’s vice president of academic and research.

During the 2020-21 fiscal year, Lakeland secured $3.05 million in total sponsored research income, collaborating with a range of government, industry and post-secondary partners to continue to advance real-world agricultural productivity and sustainability in key commercial crop and livestock species, as well as agriculture technology.

Lakeland’s applied research team reported the following in 2020-21:

• 1,803 hours of faculty engagement in research
• 14 faculty involved in research
• 42 non-faculty staff supporting research
• Four researchers
• 16 technicians
• 122 unpaid students exposed/participating in research projects
• 33 paid students participating in research projects
• 998 cumulative number of students to date involved in applied research activities
• 21 active projects
• 15 unique research partnerships with industry/organizations

A key research project Lakeland spearheaded in 2020-21 was the calibration of in-bin drying. Lakeland collaborated with Top Grade Ag to develop accurate in-bin sensor-mediated drying procedures in conjunction with agronomy-based optimal harvest timing to increase profitability and efficiency on today’s technology-based grain farming operations. Forty-eight students were engaged and involved in the harvest season and had exposure to the project, industry partner and technology.

“At Lakeland, enhancing the agriculture industry’s productivity, profitability and competitiveness is our tactical focus. With each project, we work to support student-learning outcomes as well as enhance social, environmental and economic outcomes for our province,” says Dr. François Paradis, director of Lakeland’s applied research department. “We look forward to sharing the results of current projects underway to advance this vital industry.”

Current research projects underway at Lakeland include, among others:

• Maximizing feed barley yield while minimizing lodging
• Investigating the agronomics of lupin production, a new high protein pulse crop for Alberta
• Reducing beef production costs through swath grazing complex forage mixtures during winter in Alberta
• Health impacts of feeding garlic products to growing cattle
• Development of a neonatal mineral and vitamin supplement to improve health in livestock
• Optimization of non-contact sensing technologies to enhance sustainability of bison farming
• Precision Ranching: Remote assessment of bull activity under range conditions to improve pregnancy rate
• Smart handheld device for automatic blood analysis: Innovative prediction of sheep pregnancy and litter size
• Automating replacement heifer selection – demonstration site

Lakeland has an extensive land base and multiple facilities at the Vermilion campus that support student learning and applied research. This includes a 3,700-plus acre farm featuring beef, bison, dairy and equine herds, the Agriculture Technology Centre, Crop Research and Bioenergy Building, Dairy Learning Centre, G.N. Sweet Livestock Research Facility, and land dedicated to crop trials. In addition, our scientists conduct research at various other sites across Alberta and Western Canada including on-farm projects in collaboration with producers. 

Original source can be found here