Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Ridgetown campus launches fundraising drive

Sunday, February 8, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

The University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus Agri-Food Foundation is embarking on a campaign to raise millions of dollars for research infrastructure upgrades and a new facility at the campus.

Ridgetown campus director Ken McEwan says the money being raised for a sustainable crop research and innovation centre and other upgrades is part of a province-wide renewal of crop research infrastructure across Ontario.

Facilities need to be renewed so the industry can remain globally competitive and to ensure the “longevity for our many agricultural stakeholders,” he says.

McEwan says the foundation is working with the university to raise $3 to $4 million in private donations for the work. It’s hoped the private sector donations will be matched by funding from federal, provincial and municipal governments. “We’re trying to draw awareness to this,” he says.

The funds will be used to pay for new lab space, analytical lab space, plant growth chambers, seed preparation and plant breeding equipment and cold storage space. McEwan says the money will go toward “quite a variety of things that would be of value to our campus.”

So far the foundation has raised $1.2 million, says its chair, Dave Baute. The foundation is described on the campus’ website as an organization with alumni and community representatives.

Baute says the money they’re raising is going towards “must haves in order to carry out some of the basic research that’s being done today.”

McEwan says the Ridgetown Campus currently has research facilities “but they’re dated back to the 1940s and 1950s.”

The sustainable crop research centre “will provide the infrastructure that’s needed to support leading-edge research,” he says.

There are no timelines in place for when the foundation has to raise the money or when the centre will be up and running.

Rob Gordon, dean of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph, says
upgrading research infrastructure at Ridgetown “is part of a larger focus that the university, industry and the (Ontario agriculture) ministry are putting towards how we make the investments in research much more effective and productive in the future.”

He adds that “with all of the emerging issues regarding how we better manage the production of grains and oilseeds, there is a need for us to have state-of-the art infrastructure.”

The University of Guelph has more than 15 stations across Ontario where it does crop and livestock research. The stations are operated and managed by the university as part of the university/Ontario agriculture ministry partnership. But the stations are owned by the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario.

The broader infrastructure renewal effort is focused “on what we’re doing to continue to improve our ability for field crops work,” he says.

The field crop research infrastructure needs to be renewed because “there are a lot emerging issues and technologies that require us to maybe think about our crop production systems in a slightly different way,” he says, adding, for example, there’s more emphasis being placed on how researchers manage nutrients in field crop studies.

“The sophistication of Ontario’s crop production capacity” makes it critical for the province to have research infrastructure that enables scientists to answer questions really effectively, Gordon explains. “This is about having the capacity to do state-of-the art research. It’s about making our land bases more adaptive to a wider range of opportunities for research.”

The university, agricultural industry and ministry are still working out how much it will cost to renew the research infrastructure, Gordon says. BF

 

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth

Monday, June 30, 2025

Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top