UNews - Cor Van Raay Farms

Field of Opportunity

david.kirby — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 22:06:12 +0000

From droughts and pests to crop disease and unseasonable snowstorms, farming in this semi-arid section of Alberta’s Big Sky Country comes with big challenges. But from the early First Nations peoples to the homesteaders of the 1900s to today’s technologically savvy crop and livestock producers, Albertans have a long history of ingenuity and resilience. And thanks to forward-thinking donors, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers and trailblazing initiatives for agriculturalists-in-training, that strong tradition of inventiveness will continue in the future.

Cor Van Raay with Dr. Mike Mahon (left) and Lethbridge College President Dr. Paula Burns (right) at the announcement of his $5-million donation to the U of L and LC (Photo courtesy of Lethbridge College).

“As global food demand increases, the need for Alberta agriculture is becoming stronger than ever,” says Dr. Matthew Letts, the U of L’s interim associate vice-president (research). “To take advantage of this opportunity, there is a critical need for innovative agricultural research and data-driven agribusiness.”

These types of activity, he notes, are happening at – and are supported by – the U of L.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is located in the heart of southern Alberta, where farming and ranching are among the most important regional sources of jobs and wealth. Many faculty are experts in fields connected to agriculture, including biotechnology, remote sensing, economics and management.

In addition, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is a leading-edge learning environment for aspiring agriculturalists. An increasing number of graduate students are in agriculture-related disciplines while the Agricultural Studies program enables undergraduates to learn about the physical and economic interrelationships between agricultural production, marketing, trade and nutrient management, water, grazing and rangeland and riparian management.

Indeed, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s reputation for excellence in agricultural research and education is what led Cor Van Raay, a leading Canadian cattle producer, to make a major gift to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Last June, the founder of Cor Van Raay Farms donated a total of $5 million to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College to
establish the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program.

Through this initiative, a joint program offered by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the College will be created, focusing on agriculture-related educational opportunities in economics, business development, entrepreneurship, finance, management, commodities trading and leadership, all with an emphasis on agricultural innovation. Van Raay’s donation will support endowed student awards, enhanced academic programming, an innovation and entrepreneurship program (at the U of L) and an agriculture entrepreneur-in-residence (at LC).

These initiatives will be complemented by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s new Research Chair in Potato Science. This position, announced in July, will be supported by a $1-million investment over five years from the Potato Growers of Alberta, McCain Foods, ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston and Cavendish Farms.

The Chair in potato science will expand research in the province’s potato industry, which is worth more than $1 billion annually. It is anticipated that the chairholder will collaborate with producers and industry partners, create additional learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and help develop new potato varieties.

Together, the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program and the Research Chair in Potato Science are expected to stimulate agricultural research and agribusiness at the U of L’s new Centre for Agricultural Research and Agribusiness Innovation (CARAI). Centre researchers will study pest and disease mechanisms, develop surveillance and detection mechanisms, and explore the use of remote sensing to produce data-driven agriculture.

The CARAI will prepare the agribusiness leaders of the future. Students will have access to fellowships and co-op placements, and will benefit from industrial research partnerships with producers and processors. In the end, graduates will be primed to develop solutions that will meet the demands of a growing global population.

“Collectively,” concludes Letts, “all of these initiatives will strengthen our position as a leader in agricultural education and research.”

Cor Van Raay gives $5 million in support of ag studies at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:54:59 +0000

One of southern Alberta’s most prominent agricultural entrepreneurs is ensuring that the future of agribusiness and the agricultural sector remain strong through a major philanthropic gift that will benefit students at both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College.

Cor Van Raay, left, and U of L President and Vice-chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. Van Raay's gift ensures that the future of agribusiness and the agricultural sector remains strong in Canada and beyond.

Cor Van Raay, the founder of Cor Van Raay Farms and a leading Canadian cattle producer, has donated $5 million to Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, jointly, to establish the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program.

“This is an incredible gift, and we are extremely grateful to Cor and his passion for agriculture and his commitment to southern Alberta,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. “Through the establishment of this program, we will be able to create student opportunities such that we educate future generations in agribusiness practices that enable them to successfully operate wide ranging businesses in the agricultural sector.”

Through the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program, a joint program offered by the College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be created, focusing on agriculture-related education opportunities in the areas of Ag-economics, business development, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, commodity and futures trading, and general management and leadership with a focus on agricultural innovation.

“Mr. Cor Van Raay is a philanthropist, a lifelong learner, an innovator and a collaborator,” says Lethbridge College President and CEO, Dr. Paula Burns. “His collaborative nature is seen in the structure of this gift, which will allow Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to create a unique partnership to meet the educational needs of agricultural professions for future generations.”

Van Raay and his late wife, Christine, settled in the Iron Springs area of southern Alberta in the early 1960s. The couple purchased a half section of cropland, to which Cor added a small herd of Holstein cattle in 1966.

By the 1970s, the Van Raays were growing grain and sugar beets and, as their cattle numbers grew, began to establish what would become one of the country’s most successful cattle operations.

In the early 1980s, Cor co-founded Butte Grain Merchants and continued to build his cattle business with an increasing emphasis on sustainable business practices. Around the same time, Cor became a majority owner of a very successful southern Alberta John Deere dealership from which he recently retired. Cor has now shifted his focus to a new farming operation he’s establishing in Saskatchewan.

The $5 million gift will be shared jointly between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College, establishing endowed student awards, academic programming, an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Residence (Lethbridge College) and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge).

“In partnership with Lethbridge College and the U of L, this gift will help position southern Alberta as a leader in the agricultural industry,” says Van Raay. “I’m really looking forward to the future.”

Program Details

$1 million for endowed student awards ($500,000 each to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College)

$2 million for academic programming ($1 million each to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College)

$1 million for an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Residence program at Lethbridge College. Visiting experts and successful agricultural business leaders will be welcomed into the program as Agriculture Entrepreneurs in Residence to create opportunities for students at the College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to gain practical, real-world experience while generating impacts for existing agriculture operations and businesses

$1 million for an Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. This funding will be part of THINC (The Home for Innovative New Companies) and will be used to establish a 12-week course on business development and entrepreneurship, supported by agriculture mentors and entrepreneur mentors for students who have an innovative idea or concept that they would like to turn into potential business opportunities.

UNews - Cor Van Raay Farms

Field of Opportunity

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Cor Van Raay gives $5 million in support of ag studies at ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College

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