Genome Alberta and the Government of Alberta are investing a combined $5.9 million in seven genomics and data-science projects that use artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics to turn farm research data into tools producers can use, Farms.com reports.
Much of the biological and genomic data agriculture generates sits scattered across databases and organisations. Six projects, under the Genomics Data Connect: Accelerating Agriculture Innovation initiative, aim to connect those sources and analyse them. One will help ranchers match cattle genetics to local conditions, selecting for fertility, feed efficiency, health and carcass quality. Another will build faster field diagnostics for clubroot, a damaging canola disease, while a separate one uses AI-powered tools to identify clubroot pathotypes so resistant varieties can be targeted.
Other projects will study the genes behind flea beetles' winter survival and spring emergence, to help canola growers predict outbreaks; use AI to speed the search for new treatments against drug-resistant parasitic roundworms in cattle and sheep; and analyse the genomes of honeybee gut microbes for early signs of stress from agricultural chemicals and other pressures.
The seventh project, under Genomics Data Connect: One Health Antimicrobial Resistance, will map and combine genomic data from farms, the environment and clinics to track how resistance genes move and improve surveillance across the province.
"Alberta has built high-quality genomics data resources through years of research investment. The opportunity now is to connect that information and put it to work," said David Bailey, president and CEO of Genome Alberta. Tara Sawyer, Alberta's Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, said better genomic data and analytics would help farmers make better-informed decisions about their crops and livestock.
Photo: Sergei S. Scurfield / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farms.com
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