Applying for research funding.
BC Dairy actively funds research projects that will support enhanced knowledge and innovation for the advancement of the dairy industry. We are passionate about supporting our academic dairy cattle experts across Canada and identifying and championing local innovators.
We have two funding streams available: Academic, and Applied Innovation.
BC Dairy has adopted nine research priorities in the fields of animal health and welfare and environmental sustainability based on work done by Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC). All research and innovation initiatives should be aligned with the research priorities or the BC Dairy strategic plan, which collectively should support industry sustainability, productivity, profitability, animal health and welfare, technological innovation, and environmental sustainability.
1. Academic Research Projects
The Academic stream is for projects conducted by faculty, associates, and graduate students of post-secondary institutions. An academic project will generally result in a peer-reviewed publication.
This stream is a multi-stage, annual competition designed to engage academic, technical, and industry experts to design and implement the most research with the greatest impact on dairy farms and the industry as a whole.
BC Dairy funds cannot be applied to administrative overhead costs greater than 10% of the approved funding total per application.
Process overview:
January – Letter of Intent (LOI) intake opens
February – Pre-LOI research meetings available upon request;
Researchers have a chance to bounce ideas off of all or part of the technical working group to better address the issues facing the industry
March 15 – Deadline for LOI submissions
April – Invitations to submit full proposals for all LOIs that meet the criteria
June 30 – Deadline for full proposal submissions
July to September – technical reviews take place
October – Preliminary feedback and questions from technical reviewers (if any) is sent to applicants
January/February – final funding decisions are made and applicants are contacted.
2. Applied Innovation Projects
The Applied Innovation stream has intakes twice per year, March 15 and September 30. Projects in this stream are typically field trials, feasibility reports, etc. conducted by consultants, commercial entities, agrologists, local government, or producers, and may include academic support through partnerships. Field trials typically result in a final report, but not a peer-reviewed journal article.
This stream is a twice annual competition designed to support local field trials and demonstrations, feasibility studies, provincial surveillance studies, and investments in local innovation.
Process overview:
March 15 – Deadline for applications (spring intake). Follow-up questions or clarifications may be requested upon review. Final decisions can be expected by June.
September 30 – Deadline for applications (fall intake). Follow-up questions or clarifications may be requested upon review. Final decisions can be expected by February of the following year.
Research priorities.
All projects submitted for funding consideration will be reviewed in relation to the goals below.
Climate and sustainability:
- Sustainable cropping
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Water conservation
- Enhancing biodiversity
- Social and Economic Factors influencing knowledge adoption and implementation
Animal health and welfare:
- Cattle disease prevention and mitigation
- Practical and sustainable housing and management
- Cattle nutrition
- Genetic and reproductive performance
Strategic priorities.
Projects that align with priorities under the BC Dairy strategic plan, emerging issues affecting the dairy industry or dairy producers, or that propose a new opportunity/innovation that would be of value to dairy farmers will also be considered, in addition to those in alignment with our research priorities.
