BMO donates $2M to University of Saskatchewan

BMO has donated $2 million to the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) that will be used for research into regenerative and digital agriculture.

“USask is excited to partner with BMO to strengthen the College of Agriculture and Bioresources’ research ecosystem,” said USask President Peter Stoicheff.

Stoicheff said the donation will accelerate research and training at the university.

The funds will go towards the Soil Analytical Laboratory and the Jarislowsky and BMO research chair in regenerative agriculture, according to a U of S news release.

The research chair position will focus on regenerative agriculture, which is a farming approach that looks at soil health, with the goal to be preserving and restoring food production ecosystems while maximizing production and profitability.

The Head of BMO Agriculture said they were excited to support sustainable agriculture research.

“As longtime partners and investors in the agricultural sector and a leader in sustainability, we know this research is vital to the future and the progress being made to grow Canada’s agri-food sector and the strength and resilience of our farmers, who are among the most innovative producers in the world when it comes to regenerative agriculture,” Lynda Taylor said.

There are a number of things that the soil analytical lab is expected to result in, including expanding capability for characterizing soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, building capacity for rapid assessment of a range of soil properties, enabling data integration across platforms leading to a soil database, be a space for training opportunities for students, the release said.

“Expanding our research capacity in regenerative agriculture and our analytical capacity in soil health will accelerate development of targeted solutions for food security while protecting our natural resources,” said Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn (Ph.D.), Dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.

BMO’s chief sustainability officer, Michael Torrance, said soil carbon storage was key to a net zero future.

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“We need innovative research to establish the next generation of technologies to build climate change resilience and feed a growing population,” Torrance said.

The donation is part of an upcoming campaign at the U of S called Be What the World Needs.