The $185 million ACS Living Lab program, launched in 2021, is a Canada-wide project with 13 labs. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) aims to strengthen a nationwide network of agricultural living labs over a 10-year period. Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) serves as the delivery agent for this program and has partnered with more than 15 agricultural organizations across the province to deliver a five-year project for the development of new best management practices (BMPs) and technologies through partnerships between farmers and researchers. Living Lab-Ontario builds on the success of the previous Living Lab initiative (2018-2023) but with a focus on evaluating and adopting BMPs that address climate challenges in both livestock and crop production systems on farms across Ontario. COLLABORATING FOR SUCCESS The success of the Living Lab-Ontario program and its predecessor can be attributed in large part to the collaborative efforts of its many partners. Funding for the project has been provided by AAFC under the Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Lab program, and core partners including Beef Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Pork, and Ontario Sheep Farmers. In addition to the core partners, more than 59 farmers and 16 private- and public-sector researchers are involved in this program, along with environmental and agricultural organizations and other experts. These collaborators include the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the County of Wellington, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, the Green Belt Foundation, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA), Soils at Guelph, and the University of British Columbia. INNOVATION CYCLE Chris McPhee, innovation management specialist with Living Labs Division (AAFC), says that “Living Lab is not a research project, it is innovation supported by research.” The Living Lab approach has producers at the heart of its innovation cycle. Through a co-development process, the collaborators, researchers, and farmers work together to identify needs and outcomes and then generate and share ideas (“co-development”); conduct experiments, acquire new data and explore new knowledge (“test”); and then examine the results including all types of data and user experience (“evaluate”). Through this process, the innovations and applications developed are reviewed, adapted, and changed to fit the needs of the producer by adapting on-farm practices based on practical and economic feasibility recommendations. ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER COVER STORY 6 Anèl Dannhauser Farming Smarter with Living Lab Ontario's collaborative approach uniting farmers and scientists The Living Lab-Ontario Program, part of the Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) Program (2021-2031), unites various stakeholders in the agriculture sector to collaboratively design and trial on-farm practices and technologies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration within practical, real-world settings.
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