Thank you. That was certainly appreciated. It was a significant loss not just to Virginia Tech, but certainly to all of her colleagues here at NSAC.
My name is Robert Gordon. I'm a Canada research chair at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and also a dean of research.
As the focus has been today on BRM issues, I'd like to spend a bit of time talking about two other chapters that I think are highly linked, and integrated, potentially, with the BRM chapter. Those are “Environment” and “Science and Innovation”.
First I'd like to talk a bit about NSAC and some of the roles we have played in supporting the agricultural policy framework and hope to play in the next generation of the APF. NSAC recently, in 2005, celebrated its 100th anniversary. One thing the institution has done over the last 100 years is evolve as the industry has evolved. Right now, NSAC has a student enrollment of around 800 students. We have technical programs, and certainly strong undergraduate programs at the BSc level. We have an emerging graduate program at the master's level in association with Dalhousie University, and we also have a proposed PhD program, which is now being reviewed by the Dalhousie senate for implementation in 2008.
NSAC has evolved substantially as one of the major research institutions in Atlantic Canada. In 2006, NSAC ranked first of all 16 Atlantic Canada universities in research intensity. We're forecasting in excess of $5 million in research holdings being acquired by NSAC in 2007. This shows how we have evolved from primarily a teaching institution to a full university, with strong research academic programs to suit that status.
The goals of research at NSAC are to support the agriculture industry in Atlantic Canada in providing innovative and adaptive solutions to current challenges; to support the development of new products and opportunities, as has already been discussed today; but also to develop highly qualified personnel not just to work on the farm, but to support the agriculture sector in science and technology development into the future.
One of the key areas NSAC is also committed to is enhancing industry partnerships in support of technology transfer and developmental opportunities, as well as our links with program delivery of things such as the environmental farm plan, which I'll talk about in a few seconds, as well as the nutrient management planning training that we offer through NSAC to support the environmental technologies in the region, but also to be innovative and forward-thinking and to be working with industry in identifying new initiatives in the life sciences and bio-opportunities, and as well as other new technology developments that will support value-added opportunities for the agriculture sector.
We have an innovative industry-research chairs program, whereby government and industry partner 50-50 on the development of five-year research chairs through NSAC. There have been huge success stories developed through this program over the last decade. I certainly feel that the expansion of the fur industry in Nova Scotia is, part and parcel, due to the development of a fur chair in the late 1990s at NSAC. That really helped to support the expansion of that sector in this province. But the development and enhancement of the blueberry industry, as well as issues surrounding bioproduct development, waste management, and numerous other things, have been established through this industry-research chairs partnership program, again very closely linked to the science innovation capacity that we have as an agriculture sector in Atlantic Canada.
To start off with the “Environment” chapter, one area we've really emphasized through our involvement at NSAC is the development and enhancement of the Nova Scotia environmental farm plan program. For those of you who aren't aware, the EFP in Nova Scotia is a partnership between the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. We've received funding over the last seven years through various sources, including AAFC and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, as well as the CARD program, which is the program that supported the development of the EFP early on.
The EFP started in 1999. It has continued to be a voluntary program that helps farmers identify and assess environmental risk on their farms. It continues to be a free opportunity for all farms that want to go through that process. The reasons for participating are compliance with environmental laws, assistance in assessing environmental risk, and maintaining good farmer relationships with the community, as well as access to potential funding through programs such as the national farm stewardship program. Right now, currently enrolled through the program we have over 950 farms participating in various stages of the program. That includes more than 760 farms that have actually completed and implemented action plans regarding their EFP.
Combined with that, we also have actively pursued nutrient management planning for Nova Scotia farmers, and to date over 600 farms have enrolled in that innovative program as well. So those are two really good success stories that have been developed through the environment chapter of the APF to support the sustainability of farms in this province.
We're starting right now to really get a better sense of some of the accomplishments that we've seen from these innovative programs. I'll highlight that over the last five years we've seen that 79% more farms have developed nutrient management plans than existed prior to 2001. We've actually had an 18% increase in farmers having adequate manure storage capacity, as well as 13% more farms having proper and certified pesticide storage facilities. So there have been significant advancements in the sustainability of these farm systems because of programs like the EFP.
Under the “Science and Innovation” chapter, there really haven't been the financial resources that we would like to have seen to really help that chapter move forward. Again, one of the key things that I think we need to be focusing on is better integrating that chapter with the other chapters in the next generation.
One program certainly that I'm proud of, which we've established with provincial funding that has been built into the overall implementation framework for Nova Scotia, is a graduate training initiative. We recognize that one of the key challenges of the future is the transition issue with respect to farmers. Certainly one other area, too, that is important is to maintain highly qualified personnel and good young scientists to stay in the sector and work in the industry in this next generation.
So what we've established through NSAC is a graduate research training initiative under the “Science and Innovation” chapter, which has really been the establishment of this fellowship program, where we're providing financial opportunities to high-calibre graduate students at NSAC who are conducting research of benefit to the Nova Scotia agricultural sector. It's really intended, as I said, to ensure a reliable supply of highly qualified personnel to meet these future demands, but also to have a focus on future opportunities for the industry.
In summing up in terms of reflections and suggestions, the “Environment” chapter here in Nova Scotia has been a real success. The historical focus on water, air, soil, and biodiversity has certainly really helped with respect to enhancing the future sustainability of the sector. I see in the next generation a future need to look at watershed issues collectively rather than at individual farm levels, the need to integrate farm energy or alternative energy technologies into environmental farm planning opportunities, as well as other emerging issues like farm safety.
I really strongly believe that the Nova Scotia federal partnership that has been established through the AgPF has been an excellent example of provincial-federal-industry partnerships and a good example of the environmental farm plan that has existed here in Nova Scotia. Really, don't mess with something that's been working. What we really need is a seamless transition into the next generation of APF for the environment.
In terms of science and innovation, as I mentioned before, it's generally been an afterthought. I think we really have to focus on trying to find ways of better integrating innovation, new product opportunities, and aspects associated with technology and opportunities for technological advancement in this next generation of the APF. So improving the value chain will continue be an area of focus.
But the key thing, certainly, that we've identified here in Atlantic Canada is that the regionalism of agriculture requires a regional approach to science and innovation. One thing that we've really seen in this last generation of APF has been this need to fit into a national model. Certainly we have to recognize the differences within the industry as you move across this country. You need to be thinking about some of those things as you're developing programs to support the future enhancement of the industry under science and technology, as well as the need to continue to support the development of HQP, not just at the farm level but in support of farm-level initiatives in the science-based sectors.
Thank you.