Livestock Innovation

LRIC in the news

Ontario Farmer, June 14, 2022: Growing bacon in a bioreactor instead of a barn?  

Farmtario, June 27, 2022: Planting a flag for livestock 

Ontario Dairy Farmer, July 2022: Making it easier to get research results into practice

Make a nomination!

Life Sciences Ontario nominations are open for deserving individuals and companies displaying excellence in life sciences. Read more

Funding opportunities

Please visit LRIC's website for more information on upcoming and currently open funding opportunities, including: 

• Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund
• Ontario Pork open call for research letters of intent
• Technology transfer and production economics project proposals
• GRAS Philanthropic funding application
• Farmland Health Check-Up for Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair Watersheds
• Rapid Response for Business Development
• Advacing Beekeeper Business Capacity
• Honey Bee Health Management

Sector-specific innovation highlights

Poultry: Swapping soy for camelina in broiler rations

Research from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences has found that camelina seed oil can be used as a substitute for soybean meal in broiler diets. This could address the growing challenge of finding sustainable, inexpensive protein alternatives to soy - camelina is economical to grow and has high omega-3 content. 

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Swine: Building a pig "translator"

Scientists from the French national research instittue for agriculture, food and the envrionment, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University of Copenhagen have collaborated to work on the development of an automatic recognition tool for pig voices. Pigs express their emotions through different vocalizations and by being able to recognize and distinguish their sounds could help livestock farmers with welfare decisions on-farm. 

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Beef: It's all in the family

A new study from Texas A&M shows that all bison in North America carry DNA from domestic cattle breeds. Before 1800, the North American bison population was estimated at 30 million head, but plunged to just a few hundred by the late 1870s. All modern bison are descended from that small group of survivors, the majority of whom were under the control of cattle ranchers who promoted crossbreeding as a way to develop better beef cattle. 

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Dairy: Fungi-based butter

The first prototype of a mushroom-based butter alternative is in the works by a Swedish mycoprotein maker. The new technology opens up potential production applications of high-fat dairy alternatives. 

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Sheep: New fly strike control method in development

Researchers at the University of Queensland are turning to nanotechnology as a new tool to protect sheep against deadly flystrike. They're designing and testing unique silica nanocapsule particles with slow-release forumlations; the traditional protection method of removing strips of wool-bearing skin from the buttock of sheep - called mulesing - is increasingly considered unacceptable in some parts of the world.

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Cross-sector innovation highlights: methane reduction

As the focus on greenhouse gas emissions continues to sharpen on agriculture, the search for solutions - particularly for reducing methane emissions from cattle - is also intensifying. Here are a couple of the most recent examples:

Beer and burps - reducing methane production in cattle with brewers' yeast

Research results from work by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service suggest that using leftover brewers' yeast as an additive in cattle feed could reduce the growth of gas-producing microbes in their guts. 

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Seaweed-based methane reducer now on the market

A seaweed-based feed additive that has been found to dramatically reduce methane emissions by cattle and sheep is now commercially available in Australia following a fast-tracked commercialization effort. Trial results show adding only a small amount of the substance to livestock rations results in a reduction in methane emissions of 90 to 95%. 

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On the horizon

Feed and the circular economy

The concept of a circular economy - repurposing waste streams from one sector into products useful to another - is gaining popularity as the world grapples with reducing waste and responsible resource use. Government regulations are not always keeping pace with the speed of innovation, however. In Europe, for example, legislation is limiting the use of insects, algae, and clean phosphorus in nutrient recovery for livestock feed.

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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.