March 2022


Alliance Innovations
A collaboration between OMAFRA and the University of Guelph
Stories of the Alliance people, places and programs generating impact in the agri-food sector in Ontario and around the world.
In this issue:
  • U of G platform supports more robust agri-food research
  • New U of G-developed cookbook integrates plant-based proteins
  • Highly Qualified Personnel scholars reflect on experience
  • Alliance people, places and programs in the media
  • Upcoming events
What's New?
Conceptual image of cows in a barn with data icons pointing to sensors on the cow and equipment
U of G platform supports more robust agri-food research
Data generated at Ontario’s agri-food research centres is getting a big boost with the Research Centre Data Access Portal. It’s an innovative data management platform that’s bringing new stewardship standards to agri-food research, ensuring safe and secure data storage and giving researchers easier access to their research data.
Closing the data gap
When Professor Rozita Dara joined the U of G’s School of Computer Science in 2013, the new Ontario Dairy Research Centre was nearing completion and beginning to source equipment. That’s when Dara started to look at how data was being managed at the centre, what the ongoing needs were from researchers, and what improvements could be made for the new operation.
The Research Centre Data Access Portal is a node in Agri-Food Data Canada (ADC), a national data platform for secure collaboration amongst members of the University and the Canadian Agri-Food ecosystem. Developed under the University of Guelph’s CFREF program, Food from Thought, ADC connects nodes of existing agri-food research data across Canada. Together, these data projects will fuel U of G’s commitment to FAIR data principles and advance agri-food research nationally.
New U of G-Developed Cookbook Integrates Plant-Based Proteins
A new cookbook created by researchers from the University of Guelph’s Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS) integrates plant proteins into both new and well-loved recipes.

This cookbook project is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.

Plant-Based Proteins: Recipes Made Easy-Peasy is a free cookbook available for download in English and French on the GFHS website.
Highly Qualified Personnel Scholars Reflect on Experience
The Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Scholarship training program, jointly funded by Food from Thought and the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, includes the graduate-level training course UNIV*6050: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Agri-Food Systems. This eight-month course aims to expose students to a wide range of agri-food related challenges and mentor students in the foundational skills of project management, teamwork, plain language communication, and conflict resolution.

As part of the course, students are placed into multidisciplinary teams and assigned a project defined by a non-academic partner. Students involved in the HQP program also contribute to a FeedBack blog to share their experiences in the UNIV*6050 course and insights about their team projects.
Media
A selection of Alliance people, places and programs cited in popular and trade media.
U of G researchers spoke at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week (GBFW) last month about overarching feed-saving tips to help reduce costs while optimizing gain. 

Believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, U of G’s new “Foundations in Agricultural Management” online certificate course will enable farmers, and especially younger producers, to brush up on their farm business management skills.

Establishing a diverse crop rotation is thought to be a strategy that farmers can use to improve soil health. But what are the environmental and economic benefits of the ecosystem services provided by diverse systems? It’s a question University of Guelph researchers set out to answer in a comprehensive five-year study.

Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics food economist Dr. Mike von Massow from U of G discussed cellular agriculture with tvo.org. 

Marketing professor Dr. Sunghwan Yi with the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics and applied nutrition researcher Dr. Paula Brauer in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences have been studying nudging with funding from the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.
Events
Join us for the final installment of our six-part Skills for Research Impact workshop series!
When all is said and done, how do you know it worked? Go beyond the anecdote and learn to use evaluation techniques to assess the impact of your knowledge mobilization efforts.
Make an Alliance Connection

Comments? Feedback? Events or content to include? Email kttadmin@uoguelph.ca.
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