Livestock Innovation

LRIC's articles in the news 

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Sector-specific innovation highlights*

Poultry: Seeking sustainability outcomes through gut health

In a world-first, a project in Australia is bringing together the poultry industry and leading researchers to determine how chicken farmers can use nutrition to improve gut health, animal welfare and sustainability outcomes of the country’s chicken industry. The work involves four Australian and nine international universities, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and six global poultry industry leaders including Aviagen and Lallemond.

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Swine: Camelina as a protein option for pigs?

A new international study has found that camelina sativa by-products are potential protein and energy sources for swine rations. Camelina, a member of the brassica family, is an oilseed crop grown primarily for biofuel production. By-products from oil extraction include camelina meal and camelina expellers, both of which have high concentrations of crude protein and dietary fibre.

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Beef: Dairy-beef cross calves speak to post-COVID consumers

For consumers who switch to a flexitarian lifestyle - reducing their meat consumption - quality is a very important attribute, says beef industry consultant Nevil Speer. This offers new opportunity for producers through the dairy-beef cross market.  

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Dairy: Rations influence nitrogen use efficiency

Research from Northern Ireland shows that average nitrogen use efficiency in dairy cows during the winter months is at only about 30%. The crude protein content of their rations was found to be one of the main factors influencing the animals’ nitrogen use efficiency, so farmers are encouraged to pay closer attention to feed formulations. 

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Cross-sector innovation highlights*

Climate: Innovative carbon calculator launches into the cloud

One of agriculture’s first carbon calculators, Agrecalc, has launched a cloud-based version of its state-of-the-art platform. First launched in 2007 based on intensive scientific research by Scotland’s Rural College and feedback from farmers and supply chain partners, the system has since produced over 20,000 carbon reports from more than 9,000 farm businesses. It includes new greenhouse gas mitigation options for farmers, including nitrification, urease and methane inhibitors. 

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Emissions: The hunt for methane-reducing algae species

U.S. and Australian research has shown that cattle fed the tropical algaie Asparagopsis emit 80% less methane. Unfortunately, Asparagopsis contains a potentially cancer-causing substance called bromoform. Now, researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark are on the hunt for other algae species that will have the same methane reducing impact, but without the bromoform. 

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Animal health: Different breeds, different immunity levels

Researchers from The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh are examining DNA markets in cattle that are showing different breeds have different immunity levels. The study of changes in these chemical markers, known as epigenetics, across cattle populations can help understand how their immune systems are regulated. This research could help influence future livestock disease resistance. 

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On the horizon*

Carbon squestration: it may be a question of soil texture, not management

Researchers in Austria have found that soil texture may be more important than farm management when it comes to impacting how much organic carbon is sequestered in the soil. Coarse-textured soil had significantly higher organic carbon sequestration potential than medium or fine soils, the scientists noted. And while previous work has shown that fine-textured soils have higher storage capacity for organic carbon, sandy soils are more responsive to shifts towards conservation agriculture approaches.

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Converting surplus carbon dioxide into food

A professor of climate biotechnology at the University of Tübingen in Germany has built a platform that can transform CO? from biogas into proteins that humans can eat. Work is now underway at Aarhus University to test whether the technology will work on a larger scale, outside the laboratory. 

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*Articles in this newsletter are selected for relevance and interest to the livestock sector. LRIC does not verify claims made by the article authors and we recognize that not all data is specific to Ontario. The intent is to select articles that will expose readers to issues, perceptions and developments that have the potential to impact livestock production. 

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