A husband and wife, both egg farmers, are making a huge donation to improve sustainability and innovation in the Canadian poultry and egg sector.
The University of Guelph announced that they received a gift from the William and Lynne Gray Foundation and L.H. Gray and Son Limited to the tune of $3.5 million.
The gift will be used to create the Bill and Lynne Gray Chair in Advanced Poultry Technology Management in the Department of Animal Biosciences within the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC).
The gift will help advance technologies and systems that are key to sustainable and profitable production with the goal of elevating the Canadian poultry and egg sector on the global market.
“The chair will help OAC advance its mission of improving the Canadian and global food system,” said OAC acting dean Dr. John Cranfield in a statement.
“This gift will help elevate our strength in poultry production research and teaching.”
Duties of the chair include working closely with faculty in the School of Engineering on environmental control issues such as lighting, ventilation, sanitation and biosecurity. The chair will also contribute significantly to the planning and operations of the Ontario Poultry Research Centre in Elora.
“We consider it a privilege to make this investment in the University of Guelph’s research and teaching expertise, which is second to none,” said Bill Gray.
“This investment will not only benefit the poultry and egg sector but the general public as well.”
The gift will also support an annual scholarship to help U of G attract global talent to pursue a career in the Canadian poultry and egg industry.