Last October Swine Innovation Porc called for letters of intent for research to be considered under the anticipated Swine Cluster-3 Research Initiative, expected to be part of Canada's next Agricultural Policy Framework.

The call was issued well in advance of the expected 1 April 2018 start of the next research program to ensure work could begin as quickly as possible.

Stewart Cressman, the Chair of Swine Innovation Pork, says 64 letters of intent were received, some of the respondents have been asked for full proposals, some have been asked for proposals which would involve reduced funding and some were rejected due to limited funding.

Stewart Cressman-Swine Innovation Pork

This is a cost share programme and the last programme, in Growing Forward-2, required 25 per cent private funding and the government put in 75 per cent so we put in one dollar and they put in three dollars.

There is some indication and we won't have clarity on that until the federal government announces the details of the programme but there is some indication that it might be a requirement for 30 percent private funds or 33 and a third and so until we know the exact funding ratios, the certainly raising the private funds will be part and parcel of our responsibility as well.

Mr Cressman says full proposals will be evaluated by independent experts in the field of the proposed research and considered by Swine Innovation Porc's Science Advisory Board before being passed to the Board of Directors for a final decision on which will be submitted to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.