The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada (ANAC) is pleased to offer the ANAC Graduate Scholarship. Eligible students (Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada) must be enrolled in a Canadian university graduate program in Animal Science or related field of study and have a specific interest (research project/course selection) in animal nutrition.

The ANAC Graduate Scholarship is made possible through funding by ANAC member companies. The intent of this annual national scholarship is to encourage students to consider pursuing a career in the feed industry.

In addition to the $4,000 award, the scholarship recipient will have the opportunity to present their research at the opening plenary of the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada (ANCC). The ANCC is a dynamic conference that brings together researchers and feed industry specialists to exchange knowledge about the latest scientific developments related to livestock nutrition.

How to apply

To apply for the ANAC Graduate Scholarship, applicants must complete an online application package including following components:

1. Resume
2. Reference letter from the applicant’s academic advisor
3. One-page cover letter outlining their project and how it contributes to the Canadian feed industry. Note: Commitment to attend the conference must be stated in the letter.
4. Official transcript or list of completed courses signed by the applicant’s academic advisor. Additional consideration will be given to those that have a focus on nutrition related courses. 

For any questions concerning the Graduate Scholarship, please email info@anacan.org.

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2025 ANAC Scholarship Recipient: Beatriz Montenegro

Maximizing the utilization of wheat straw with canola or flax screenings supplementation in finishing beef cattle diets: growth performance, carcass characteristics and economic analysis
Incorporation of crop residues and byproducts in beef cattle diets has become prevalent due to feed shortages, increased feed prices, and disrupted supply chains. This study evaluated growth performance, carcass characteristics, and economic outcomes of finishing feedlot cattle fed wheat straw diets supplemented with canola or flax screenings compared to a standard western Canadian finishing diet. In a completely randomized design, 300 steers (366 ± 32 kg) were stratified by weight and randomly allocated to 20 pens (15 steers/pen). Each pen was randomly assigned to one of five treatments (n = 4/treatment): control (CTL); low straw canola (LSC); low straw flax (LSF); high straw canola (HSC); and high straw flax (HSF). The CTL diet consisted of conventional finishing ingredients (10% barley silage:90% concentrate, dry matter [DM] basis). Low and high straw diets included 5% and 10% wheat straw respectively, with screenings at 12.50% inclusion (DM basis). Steers were fed for 148 d. Dry matter intake was not different among treatments. Final BW, average daily gain (ADG), and hot carcass weight (HCW) declined (P<0.05) with increasing wheat straw inclusion. Gain:feed tended (P<0.10) to decrease as wheat straw inclusion increased. No significant differences were observed for dressing percentage, backfat thickness, lean meat yield, marbling score, empty body fat, liver scores, or cost:gain. The proportion of AAA carcasses was highest for LSF and decreased with increasing wheat straw inclusion (P<0.02). Despite some negative effects at higher straw inclusion rates, the overall performance of steers fed diets with lower wheat straw inclusion (5%) was comparable to that of controls, suggesting that low inclusion levels of wheat straw with oilseed screenings can be viable during feed shortages.

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Past Scholarship Winners

ANAC National Scholarship
2024: Catherine Seidle, University of Saskatchewan
2023: Miranda Buchinski, University of Saskatchewan
2022: Amanda J. Fischer-Tlustos, Univerisity of Guelph
2021: Melissa Williams, University of Guelph
2020: Liam Kelln, University of Saskatchewan
2019: Casey Havekes, University of Guelph
2018: Victoria Seip, University of Guelph
2017: Haley Leung, University of Guelph

Eastern Scholarship
2016: Heather Reinhardt, University of Guelph
2015: Melissa Wiseman, University of Guelph
2014: Elizabeth Ellis, University of Guelph
2013: Emily Miller, University of Guelph 
2012: Natalie Litvak, University of Guelph
2011: Jaclyn Elyse Love, University of Guelph
2010: Hector R. Martinez Ramirez, University of Guelph
2009: Daniel Columbus, University of Guelph
2008: Katie Wood, University of Guelph

Western Scholarship
2016: Sasha van der Klein, University of Alberta
2015: Janna Moats, University of Saskatchewan
2014: Faustin Joy, University of Saskatchewan
2013: Megan DeVisser, University of Saskatchewan
2012: Aman Deep, University of Saskatchewan
2011: Matthew Walpole, University of Saskatchewan
2010: Prajwal Regmi, University of Alberta
2009: Amanda Van De Kerckhove, University of Saskatchewan
2008: Kristopher Wierenga, University of Alberta
2007: Thomas Nortey, University of Saskatchewan