Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), Canada, announced plans to invest $11.4 million in a third dairy research cluster. 

Dairy Research Cluster 3 is designed to stimulate productivity, sustainability and profitability on farms, and to improve knowledge on the health benefits of milk and dairy products. Canada-based partners Lactanet Canada and Novalait contributed $16.5 million to the project, while Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada invested $11.4 million. 

“The investment provided to the Dairy Research Cluster 3 is essential to enable strong, robust and evidenced-based research material that ultimately helps dairy farmers increase efficiency of their farm practices, particularly milk production, animal welfare and sustainability,” says Pierre Lampron, president of DFC. “Results of these research projects will also contribute to expand knowledge about the health benefits of dairy products. Today’s announcement is another important step toward ensuring the continuous improvement of our dairy industry.”

“Innovation on Canadian dairy farms requires cutting-edge knowledge of world-class research. Novalait is proud to be a partner of the Dairy Research Cluster 3 to develop this knowledge. This important investment by Novalait in the quality of milk will benefit the entire dairy sector,” says Charles Langlois, president of Novalait.

“The research funded as part of this cluster will help Canadian dairy farmers continue to benefit from the most advanced genetic technologies, and to optimize genetic progress, with a focus on novel traits emphasizing health, longevity and efficiency,” says Barbara Paquet, chair of Lactanet Canada.