The Ontario government has awarded Brock $3.5 million for a national sustainable agricultural project that will see the University’s innovative grape and wine research expand into other areas of the agricultural sector.

Funding from the Ontario Research Fund – Large Infrastructure Fund program supports the three-part Clean Agriculture for Sustainable Production (CASP) Field Infrastructure project. Central to the project is the Brock-led research farm where scientists from Brock, other institutions and industry will develop and test out agricultural innovations.

Co-leading the multi-institutional initiative are Principal Scientist Sudarsana Poojari and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Jim Willwerth (PhD ’11, OEVC ’04), who are both with Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).

“The Ontario government has recognized the time is now to be proactive in building resiliency and sustainability into Ontario’s $5.5-billion grape and wine industry by supporting this university-industry partnership,” says CCOVI Director and core scientist Debbie Inglis.

Brock held a small ceremony Friday, April 26 at the site of the future research farm — on Merrittville Highway south of the University’s main campus — to celebrate the Ontario funding, which was announced last month by Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop. The Ontario grant matches a $3.5-million commitment from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

“Ontario’s grape and wine sector supports critical rural economic development, both in Niagara and across the province,” says Sam Oosterhoff, Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara West. “This provincial funding for Brock University through the Ontario Research Fund will help support sustainable local farm practices and establish a home for Canada’s first Clean Plant Program for grapevines at the University’s new research farm.”

The Clean Plant Program, which is the initial phase of the CASP project, builds on initiatives — including the national grapevine germplasm repository, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency partnership CLEANSED, and the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN) partnership — where CCOVI and a wide variety of partners work together to produce certified virus-free grapevines for the grape and wine industry.

Poojari says Canada needs close to 6.2 million clean grapevines each year, and at present is reliant on imports, which is not ideal given high transport costs, time constraints and supply chain issues.

“Growers are the ones who suffer because of the delays in getting the plant material. They need varieties more suitable to our soil and climate conditions,” says Poojari. “We need to be depending on ourselves rather than on other countries.”

He notes most of Canada’s nurseries are concentrated in Ontario.

The second phase of the CASP project, Precision Agriculture and Ecological Interactions, examines how these clean grapevines interact with other plants and organisms. Understanding plant interactions in field and greenhouse ecosystems aims to enable the selection of more resilient crops and increase agricultural diversification.

Willwerth says a large part of Ontario’s horticulture sector includes grape and tender fruit.

“We are focusing on clean grapevines, but our research outputs pertaining to sustainable agriculture will be applicable to many other crops grown in Ontario,” he says. “This will help build Ontario’s food security, resiliency to threats like climate change, pests and diseases while increasing biodiversity in our agroecosystems.”

In the third phase of the project, Urban Applications, the research farm will become a test bed for integrating innovative approaches into an urban setting.

Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute Principal Scientist Sudarsana Poojari discusses ongoing clean plant research with Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson.

In addition to Poojari, Willwerth and Inglis, a number of Brock researchers will be involved in the project’s various stages, including Professor of Biological Sciences Liette Vasseur, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Kiyoko Gotanda, Assistant Professor of Engineering Shengrong Bu, Assistant Professor of Engineering and Biological Sciences Alonso Zavafer and Professor of Biological Sciences Ping Liang.

The team also includes national collaborators Simone Castellarin from the University of British Columbia and Caroline Provost from Centre de recherche agroalimentaire de Mirabel in Quebec.

The April 26 event follows on the heels of Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson’s visit to Brock earlier in this month.

Thompson met with Poojari and other CCOVI members to learn about the contributions Brock researchers are making to the province’s agricultural sector.

The visit also included a meeting with Brock President and Vice-Chancellor Lesley Rigg at which Rigg shared insight into the future of the research farm.