Enhancing Commercial Agricultural Productivity and Building the Rural Bioeconomy

莱克兰学院是一所位于农村的公立学院，服务于阿尔伯塔省和萨斯喀彻温省，为8000多名学生提供课程。学院在农业、能源和环境科学方面发展了重要的应用研究能力。莱克兰学院在校内农场演示、田间作物试验和应用研究项目方面有着丰富的历史。申请的资金将扩大学院在农业和环境科学方面的研究能力和活动。商业农业是我们地区的一个重要产业，占到26%的商业和2011年16.3亿美元的农场现金收入。本提案中描述的研究计划遵循三个关键主题：(1)牲畜能量和营养效率；(2)加强作物管理；(3)推进生物经济——通过与工业界合作开发的特定研究活动，与我们独特的区域工业需求保持一致。这些主题相互关联，相互支持，以确保净研究成果反映可持续地提高该地区、阿尔伯塔省和加拿大的商业农业生产力的主要目标。NSERC的资金将加强和扩大学院与工业界合作开展商业农业应用研究项目的能力。它将扩展和补充现有的设备能力，并使学院在农业应用研究的参与和部署方面变得更加系统化，这将通过参与研究的学生、教师和员工的数量以及与学院建立多年合作关系的公司的数量来衡量。

Lakeland College is a rurally-located public college serving Alberta and Saskatchewan and offering programs to over 8,000 students. The College has developed significant applied research competencies in agriculture, energy and environmental sciences. Lakeland College has a rich history of on-campus farm demos, field crop trials, and applied research projects. The requested funding will expand research capacity and activities at the College in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.Commercial agriculture is a significant industry in our region, representing 26% of businesses and $1.63B of 2011 on-farm cash receipts. The research plans described in this proposal follow three key themes-(1) Livestock Energetic and Nutritional Efficiency; (2) Enhancing Crop Management; and (3) Advancing the Bioeconomy-with specific research activities, developed in partnership with industry, that align with our unique regional industry needs. Each of these themes interrelate and support each other to ensure that net research outcomes reflect the primary goal of sustainably increasing commercial agricultural productivity in the region, in Alberta, and in Canada. NSERC funding will enhance and expand the college's capability to engage in commercial agriculture applied research projects in partnership with industry. It will extend and supplement existing equipment capabilities and allow the college to become more systematic in our engagement and deployment of agricultural applied research, which will be measured by the number of students, faculty and staff engaging in research and the number of companies developing multi-year partnerships with the college.