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As the largest university in Atlantic Canada and a member of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, H���� has established itself as a centre for collaboration, uniting people and organizations with shared interests to create change. Bringing Worlds Together seeks to build on that success and uses three key pillars as guides in this quest: engaging in high-impact research to find solutions to local and global challenges; inspiring future-ready leaders by creating new ways to offer exceptional student experiences; and lifting our communities by fostering more equitable, just and sustainable societies.

Feeding the future

H���� is poised to become a catalyst for change, and this is especially true at the Agricultural Campus. As the only agricultural institution in Atlantic Canada, the AC aspires to revolutionize agriculture in the region, and takes its role in educating tomorrow’s agricultural leaders seriously. The faculty members, staff and students appreciate the collective responsibility to increase food production and decrease environmental impact. And with food security one of the major areas of focus for the Bringing Worlds Together campaign, the Faculty of Agriculture has a crucial part to play.

With a total of eight priorities and a fundraising goal of approximately $115 million, the Faculty of Agriculture has ambitious plans.

Engaging in high-impact research

Over 85 per cent of the research performed at the Faculty of Agriculture is “applied” research – meaning solutions and innovations directly address real-world, industry-led needs. By engaging students early and often in research, the next generation becomes trained to seek solutions and deeply consider the wide-ranging impact of their work.

One key research area is food security. The Atlantic region is ideally suited to explore agricultural innovations that tackle food security, as well as climate change mitigation, access to clean water and economic growth. The goal is to expand and accelerate this important research to improve food security for an ever-growing global population by creating the Food for the Future Smart Farm and Innovation Hub on campus.

To realize this vision, significant infrastructure improvements are needed. Each component of the Food for the Future Smart Farm and Innovation Hub will include new or upgraded buildings, technology and equipment, as well as additional faculty and increased funding for scholarships and research. Bringing Worlds Together will fund several elements within the Food for the Future Smart Farm and Innovation Hub, including a sustainable food systems facility, a precision animal management entre, a sustainable precision aquaculture centre, and a centre for sustainable soil management.

Campaign priority: Sustainable Food Systems Facility�� �� ��

Digitization is transforming the agriculture sector. The sustainable food systems facility will provide world-renowned precision agriculture team members with the high-tech tools and infrastructure they need to make advances that matter. This state-of-the-art facility will help optimize technologies for Atlantic Canada’s farming systems and bolster the region’s prosperity.

Peter Burgess (Class of ‘03), executive director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS), explains that to keep wild blueberries competitive in the world market, farmers rely heavily on technology developed at the Faculty of Agriculture.

“Our crop is unique in that it's a naturally occurring native plant in our ecosystem and it's only grown commercially in Quebec, Maine, and the Maritimes,” Peter says. “So, essentially, if the research isn't done here, it's not done.”

Peter shares that WBPANS has been working with researchers at the Faculty of Agriculture for 35 years, and he feels fortunate to have dedicated faculty members focused on the wild blueberry industry. He sees the new sustainable food systems facility as hugely important.

“This is a larger shift in agriculture in general, but for blueberry growers, it’s more than that,” he says. “Our producers don’t just have a blueberry farm behind their house. They might have fields in remote places, and there are many farmers who have fields from one end of the province to the other. We also need to reduce reliance on labour, because we struggle to find workers. So things like remote sensing, automation, and real-time data and mapping are all things we're looking to integrate into our production systems going forward."

The proposed state-of-the-art facility will attract youth and talent to the faculty and field. It will provide a sandbox for students and researchers to learn, innovate and collaborate with partners, and it will enable the team to create clean, precision technologies and find better and more sustainable ways to feed a growing global population.

Campaign priority: Animal Management Centre

The animal management centre initiative will rebuild the dairy facility on campus and upgrade sheep housing. The centre will offer the latest industry technologies to support training, research and development. The current dairy and sheep facility, known as the Ruminant Animal Centre, is aging and lagging behind the industry standard.

“This facility is over 30 years old and, in that time, there’s been a lot of changes in terms of animal welfare, automation and technology,” says Jean Lynds (Class of ’90), operations manager at the campus farm. “Even though we've done a lot of upgrades and renovations to try to keep pace, they have all had limitations. We need to do a reset and that's what this campaign will allow us to do.”

The current facility would be difficult to retrofit to accommodate and reap the full benefits of advancements in dairy systems, including robotics. “There are whole areas of research we just can’t even entertain due to the constraints of our aging facility,” Jean shares. “The Faculty of Agriculture is a centre of excellence for agriculture. We always have been, and we want to continue to be, and to do so we need to invest in our future.”

Additionally, in recent years, the demographic of those choosing to study agriculture has changed. “In the past, a lot of our students came from a farm background, and that's changing,” says Jean. “For a lot of our students, their very first opportunity to interact with livestock is here. We want to be able to show all our students the best management practices that are available and have the resources that are relevant to the industry today.”

Fully integrated with the sustainable food systems facility and linked to industry databases, the centre will be a testbed for emerging “plug-and-play” technologies with access to real-time agricultural data. It will improve efficiency and profitability, while ensuring food production is safe, successful and sustainable. The centre will reinforce commitment to the highest animal welfare standards and industry best practices.

Campaign priority: Sustainable Precision Aquaculture Centre

The world would be facing a 50- to 80-million tonne shortfall of food fish by the year 2030 if it weren’t for aquaculture. Canada has aggressive goals to meet this critical seafood supply through aquaculture expansion, and the proposed sustainable precision aquaculture centre will play a key role in achieving those goals.

Overall, H����’s world-leading aquaculture and marine science specialists operate the largest university-owned seawater/aquatic research centre in Canada, and faculty members work with industry to develop technical qualifications for those new to or working in the aquaculture field. However, the existing infrastructure at the Agricultural Campus is aging and is limited in capacity and scope. The sustainable precision aquaculture centre will significantly expand the resources available at the Faculty of Agriculture, and by extension available to the aquaculture industry.

Juan Manriquez-Hernandez (Class of ‘14) moved to Nova Scotia from Chile 17 years ago. He started out doing research on marine habitat protection at H����’s Halifax campus before moving to Truro to complete his Master of Science. He is now a PhD student in the Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture at the Faculty of Agriculture, focusing on the use of microalgae as feed for Atlantic salmon. He knows well the limitations of the aquaculture facility on campus, after spending more than a decade working and conducting research there.����

“When I arrived at the Agricultural Campus, there were two rooms dedicated to aquaculture research,” he says. “For my masters, I was interested in seaweed and there wasn’t the space here, so I had to set up in one of the greenhouses.”

There has never been a purpose-built facility for aquaculture education and research on campus, as it was only introduced in 1996. The spaces currently used for fish research are repurposed animal science spaces that aren’t equipped with the proper drainage needed for aquaculture research.

“Right now, our facility is small and focused mostly on salmon,” says Juan. “We have opportunities with industry here, with other species, and so many possibilities. We already have a great reputation for research and our professors and instructors are excellent. We just need the facilities to take things further. This growth is important.”

The sustainable precision aquaculture centre will address key barriers to industry growth, support aquaculture research and training, and facilitate collaborations. The result will be a safer, more sustainable aquaculture industry.

Additional high-impact research priorities

Campaign priority: Centre for Sustainable Soil Management

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Enhancing soil resiliency is crucial to withstanding climate change challenges. The centre for sustainable soil management will provide a data hub and focal point for education, training, discovery and innovation in soil science, with a regional focus on soil assessment, mapping and management. With additional equipment and support, internationally recognized experts can expand their collaborative, multidisciplinary research to improve Atlantic Canadian agriculture.

Campaign priority: Food of the future | Sustainability, innovation and food security

By 2050, the global population is expected to need a 50 per cent increase in food production. Traditional farming practices will not be able to meet this demand. The Food of the Future project will create several sustainable solutions that contribute to food security, community health and economic development. The centre will seek ways to effectively extend the growing season, increase food production per acre of land use, minimize environmental impacts of food production, reduce the need for chemicals, find new uses for food and ingredients, and lower or repurpose food waste—all through innovative technology like greenhouses, containers, plant genetics and more.

Campaign priority: Agriculture thought leadership and innovation

Attracting the best and the brightest researchers, teachers and students to make real advances in sustainable agriculture is a priority. Through this campaign, a joint professorship in data and agriculture with the Faculty of Computer Science will be created. Industry chairs that focus on dairy, aquaculture, soils and regenerative agriculture, and innovative food production and processing systems will be created. Attracting world-leading experts will expose students to the top minds in the field and accelerate contributions to agricultural research.

Inspiring future-ready leaders

Leading high-impact research means nothing without supporting the people to carry it forward into the future. The Faculty of Agriculture aspires to be the most student-centric agricultural campus in Canada, offering exceptional education and hands-on learning opportunities. The Bringing Worlds Together campaign will provide the support future agricultural leaders need to succeed, whether they focus on farming, food, aquaculture, climate, sustainability, economic development, big data or engineering—the possibilities and permutations are virtually limitless. It will ensure all students can enjoy an accessible, inclusive rural campus. Graduates will flourish as skilled, innovative and community-minded global citizens who will make meaningful contributions in Atlantic Canada or wherever they call home.

Campaign priority: Support for student success

To inspire future-ready leaders, the campaign will focus on financial and academic support that will help talented undergraduate and graduate students focus on learning. Scholarships, bursaries, awards and internships that attract and support students will be established and enhanced. These supports will consider historically underrepresented groups and reflect the diversity of community on and around the campus. Every qualified student will have access to a H���� Agriculture education.

Lifting our communities

For over 100 years, the Agricultural Campus has benefitted from its surrounding communities and has strived to return the favor. The Faculty of Agriculture’s roots are firmly planted in Atlantic Canadian soil, and while strong partnerships have grown within the region, they have also branched out to serve the world. Every day the Faculty of Agriculture strives to lift its local, national and global communities.

Campaign priority: Atlantic Agricultural Interpretive Centre

The Faculty of Agriculture’s community focus for Bringing Worlds Together is the Atlantic Agricultural Interpretive Centre. A partnership with Discovery Centre International and the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, the Interpretive Centre will be the region’s premier destination to learn about agriculture and inspire the next generation of agricultural innovators. Interactive exhibits will engage the public, expanding their knowledge, interest and support for modern agriculture.

The Interpretive Centre will focus on the food produced in Atlantic Canada and how it connects the region with Canada and the world. It will explore aquaculture, smart farming, vertical farming, workforce development, research, environmental stewardship, nutrition and more. Mi’kmaq community members are engaged in developing the centre to ensure the content included is accurate and not misrepresented in any way. The Atlantic Agricultural Interpretive Centre will bring an exciting new dimension to community outreach and education activities.