Canada to invest CA$1.7 million to improve beef and dairy cattle genetics

The Canadian ministry of agriculture and agri-food will set aside up to $1,627,270 (US$1,181,438) to fund genetics traits research for beef and dairy cattle. The funding will be provided to the non-profit association Canadian Angus Association who, in partnership with Holstein Canada, will invest in new genetic evaluation tools to monitor for traits that would increase farmer profitability and further the knowledge of genetic selection across the beef and dairy industries. Canada’s agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay told the press that investing in new technologies would enhance the industry’s economic and environmental sustainability while ‘putting more money in the pockets of producers and more top-quality Canadian products on tables around the world’. The Canadian Angus Association is set to leverage the federal funding to invest in tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and computer vision systems able to capture large volumes of data on traits ...