What's in a name?
Commentary by LRIC CEO Mike McMorris
A critical stage of a livestock innovation system is getting research results into action on farms. My first full-time job was providing “extension” services for beef farmers while today, in my current job, I often hear that the process of getting research results to farmers is not working.
Today we hear a lot about KTT, which stands for Knowledge Translation and Transfer, but is that extension or only a small piece of the puzzle? The world has shifted and like in most parts of the world, government resources involved in what was “extension” have been reduced with industry picking up many new roles.
No matter what names we use, there is big potential to improve the flow of research results and recommendations to Ontario livestock farmers. LRIC has several initiatives underway to help map out a better future, including a project with Dr. Ataharul Chowdhury at the University of Guelph.
His first step is documenting the current landscape and players involved. Once we know who all is involved, we can start to work better together. If you have an interest and ideas for improvement of this important work, feel free to join a webinar on April 9 (10-12). To register, head to: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkceGurTkiGtUQec1jt2K3y0TGpp2CnBO3