/EINPresswire.com/ -- OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/04/16 -- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay announced today that the Government of Canada is investing an additional $1.75 million in the dairy research cluster to further increase milk production and improve our understanding of the health effects of dairy fat.

This new investment, under the Growing Forward 2 agricultural framework, will enable the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) to tap into research conducted by AAFC scientists, bringing the total investment under the research cluster to $13.75 million.

The cluster, launched in 2013, brings together scientific expertise in key areas such as sustainable milk production, dairy genetics and genomics, and the nutrition of milk products.

Quick Facts

--  The Canadian dairy industry has $6.07 billion in farmgate sales, $15.4
    billion in sales in the processing sector, and supports 112,000 jobs.
--  DFC is the national policy and promotional organization representing
    Canada's farmers living on approximately 12,000 dairy farms.
--  This new investment will help support research into two specific
    activities: enhancing the energy of forage crops to maximize milk
    production and studying the impact of dairy fat products such as cheese
    on cardio-vascular health in humans.
--  This investment is being made through the Growing Forward 2,
    AgriInnovation Program, a five-year, up to $698 million initiative.

Quotes

"Canada's dairy sector is among our largest food industries and contributes significantly to the country's economy. This new investment in research will help boost milk yields and help maintain consumer confidence in the nutritional value of dairy products."

- Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay

"We deeply appreciate this investment in research, because research is important in our sector. This investment will encourage improving forages and contribute to the productivity and sustainability of our farms. It will also allow us to improve our understanding of the nutritional value and health benefits of milk products."

- Wally Smith, President, Dairy Farmers of Canada

Additional Links

- GF2 Dairy research cluster announcement

- AgriInnovation Program (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

- Growing Forward 2 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

- Dairy Farmers of Canada

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Contacts:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972