Livestock Innovation

LRIC in the news

Canadian Poultry, February/March 2022: Modelling, AI open new avenues

News release, February 23, 2022: New podcast series on innovations launched for Livestock industry

Coming events

February 23 - June 22: International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare (Virtual)

May 10 - 12: 2022 Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada, Saskatoon 

Funding opportunities

Please visit LRIC's website for more information on any of the following funding opportunities:

• Canadian Poultry Research Council calls for Poultry Science Clusters Letters of Intent: deadline March 31, 2022
• Biosecurity for African Swine Fever Preparedness, OMAFRA: deadline March 21, 2022
• Advancing Beekeeper Business Capacity, Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Open
• Honey Bee Health Management, Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Open
• Addressing Agri-Food Sector Labour Force Challenges, OMAFRA: Open

Sector-specific innovation highlights

Poultry: Using precision farming tools to monitor poultry behaviour

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researchers have received funding to develop a computer vision system to monitor poultry behaviours. The system will track comfort behaviours like stretching, preening and dust-bathing, as well as production-related activities like eating and drinking in real-time.

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Swine: Gene-edited pig heart transplanted into human

For the first time, a pig-to-human heart transplant has been completed using a gene-edited pig heart. Scientists and doctors worked on the surgery at the University of Maryland. Ten genes in the donor animal were altered to enable the transplant, including those that cause human bodies to reject pig organs, ones that help control immune acceptance of the heart, and one that stop excessive growth of pig heart tissue.

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Beef: The age is in the tail

Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a way for beef producers to read the age of an animal by analyzing its tail hair. A real-time sequencing device determines the animal's age from DNA extracted from hair on the tail. This technology will be particularly useful for farmers and ranchers whose animals spend large parts of their lives on the range and where individual births are not necessarily recorded.

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Dairy: Oats instead of barley reduces methane

A new study from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences shows that replacing barley with oats in the rations of dairy cattle on a grass silage-based diet reduces the amount of methane they produce. The substitution did not impact the animals' productivity.

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Aquaculture: Partnering with engineeering to protect fragile coastlines

A Dutch start-up is working to integrate aquaculture - seaweed and bivalve shellfish production - into floating breakwaters that will protect against damage to coastlines. The "grey-green" infrastructure combines the reliability of engineering with the benefits of natural aquaculture production.

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Cross-sector innovation highlights

Climate: Why methane continues to be the cattle industry's biggest climate change challenge

Tackling greenhouse gas emissions from cattle production will require a range of technologies and strategies; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Canada has more than 11 million cattle that support carbon sequestration through pastureland but also contribute to production of enteric methane, a greenhouse gas.

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Sustainability: Calculating the life-time carbon footprint of animal feed

The Global Feed Life Cycle Analysis Institute gathers data to help feed companies calculate the emaaisions released throughout a product's life cycle. This is becoming an increasingly used tool for feed companies, particularly in Europe where the Farm-to-Fork strategy for more sustainable agricultural production has just been approved.

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On the horizon

Animal-free products: Mushrooms engineered to mimic animal leather

A California company is using mycelium, a material grown from fungi, to produce a material that replicates the appearance and feel of leather. The mushroom leather can be grown in only a few weeks and is being billed as a carbon-neutral, cruelty-free alternative to animal leathers that could help meet sustainability goals.

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Cellular agriculture: A patent for cell-based milk

Israeil company Wilk now holds an exclusive patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for methods and systems it needs to develop industrial processes to produce human and animal milk from cells. This will give the world the ability to produce real milk without the need for animals.

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Soil health: Carbon is not a dirtry word

For all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there isn't enough carbon in the soil - and recarbonizing soil could help decarbonize the atmosphere. Increasing carbon in the ground makes soil more resilient and productive. What's lacking is a reliable, cost-effective way to measure soil carbon at scale that can help pave the way for a carbon credit market.

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Thanks for reading. We'd love to hear your feedback about LRIC - both about what we're doing and what you think we should be doing! Please contact us at info@livestockresearch.ca with any questions or comments.