Livestock Innovation

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LRIC in the news 

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Funding opportunities

• Increasing Deadstock Capacity Initiative: Agricultural Adaptation Council, closing September 15, 2024

• Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands intake: Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association, open until budget fully allocated

• Rapid Response for Business Development: Grand River Agricultural Society, ongoing

Please visit LRIC's website for more information on the funding opportunities:
https://livestockresearch.ca/call_for_research_proposals 

Sector-specific innovation highlights*

Poultry: Exploring the benefits of probiotics in chicks

Research from Penn State University has shown that supplementing the diet of young chicks with a probiotic over 21 days significantly boosted the population of beneficial intestinal organisms. Natural feed additives are seen as promising alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters. The same study found no impact on the chicks from adding an essential oils blend of oregano oil, rosemary and red pepper. 

Read more: www.poultryworld.net/health-nutrition/health/benefits-of-probiotics-in-chicks-explored/ 

Swine: Copper beads as precision nutrition in pig farming?

At Texas Tech University, researchers are investigating using hydrogel beads to deliver copper supplements to pigs, which they suggest could mitigate risks associated with excessive copper intake. The beads would trigger a slow-release of the copper, keeping it in the gastro-intestinal tract for a longer period of time. Initial research has shown that copper beads can positively influence the microbial make up of a pig’s gut. More research is needed, including using the beads to target specific pathogenic microbes. 

Read more: www.feednavigator.com/Article/2024/04/18/Use-of-copper-beads-to-enhance-gut-health-in-pigs

Beef: “Beef rice” a future protein source, say Korean scientists  

South Korean researchers have grown beef cells in rice grain, which they say is a major step forward in achieving a sustainable, affordable protein source that people could eat in place of animal protein. Touted as the first of its kind, the so-called beef rice uses grain particles as the base for cultivating animal muscle and fat cells. The end product resembles a pinkish grain of rice. 

Read more: www.reuters.com/science/south-korea-scientists-tout-beef-rice-source-protein-future-2024-03-14/ 

Dairy:  A look at what’s ahead in new dairy technology

AgriTech Capital President Aidan Connolly says the hottest dairy tech innovations include reducing methane production, using more sensors, and implementing artificial intelligence to measure cow body condition. One of the most striking innovations, however, comes from a start-up called Agsent whose diagnostic testing equipment analyzes cow breath to detect everything from disease to pregnancy. Connolly wrote his comments following his attendance at the Animal Agtech Innovation Summit and World Agritech earlier this year. 

Read more: www.dairyherd.com/news/education/what-will-be-next-new-dairy-technology 

Small ruminants: Maggot oil and ram semen quality

Oil from black solider fly maggots is known to improve livestock reproduction by supporting sperm maturation, mobility, and quality. Researchers at IPB University in Indonesia are investigating the effect feeding maggot oil could have on ram semen and found that ram groups fed this additive produced significantly higher sperm motility. Black soldier fly maggot, which contains as much as 32% fat, could be a sustainable alternative feed oil source. 

Read more: farmingfuturefood.com/maggot-oil-offers-sustainable-boost-to-ram-semen-quality/ 

Aquaculture: Unique alliance working together to reduce antimicrobial use in salmon production

A new project has been announced in Chile that will see public and private sector partners, including 11 leading Chilean salmon farming companies, work together to find new ways of reducing antimicrobial use in commercial salmon production. This includes what is being hailed as an unprecedented commitment from the aquaculture to work with the pharmaceutical industry and other sectors to prioritize innovation and development of non-antibiotic solutions for common bacterial diseases, including Salmon Rickettsial Syndrome. 

Read more: www.agtechnavigator.com/Article/2024/04/16/chilean-salmon-farmers-reveal-unique-alliance-to-cut-antibiotics-in-aquaculture

Cross-sector innovation highlights*

Feed: Advanced feed equipment market expected to boom 

A new report by Future Market Insights predicts the feed machine market – advanced and often automated feeding equipment and system – will reach $2.2 billion USD annually by 2034. The drivers of this growth are farmers and feed manufacturers prioritizing animal well-being and high quality feed while simultaneously looking to improve efficiency, lower production costs and streamline production processes. 

Read more: finance.yahoo.com/news/advanced-feed-machines-market-reach-104500973.html

Emissions: Can cows flip the climate narrative? 

A research alliance that has created tools for estimating the carbon footprint of grazing ruminant animals has found some surprising results. The most striking finding when considering the entire grazing-carbon cycle is that beef production can be carbon negative, which means that land and cattle together produce fewer net emissions than being taken up by the land, and that methane production by the land goes up when cattle aren’t present.

Read more: www.feednavigator.com/Article/2024/04/25/Can-cows-flip-the-climate-narrative 

Climate change: New research project aims to improve predictions of climate change and extreme weather events

By studying how aerosols and clouds interact, researchers working on a European Union-funded project called CleanCloud hope to improve the ability to foresee extreme weather events due to climate change. Improved predictions will be crucial for helping the global population cope with life in a changing climate, including being better prepared for extreme weather like heavy rainfall or hail, for example. CleanCloud includes 20 different scientific institutions from 12 different countries. 

Read more: tech.au.dk/en/about-the-faculty/news/show/artikel/new-research-project-aims-to-improve-predictions-of-climate-change-and-extreme-weather-events

On the horizon*

Animal agtech innovators transforming the livestock industry

Sixteen start-ups profiled at this past winter’s Animal AgTech Innovation Summit have been identified as having the potential to transform the livestock industry. Their breakthrough technologies and solutions range from non-antibiotic treatment for bovine mastitis, genetically engineered phage technology, and artificial intelligence to machine vision, poultry barn robotics and autonomous livestock monitoring. Canadian start-ups on the list include BinSentry – reliable inventory monitoring of on-farm feed bins – and SomaDetect, an in-line sensor that can monitor critical indicators of a cow’s reproductive status, health and milk components at each milking. 

Read more: animalagtech.com/start-ups-transforming-the-livestock-industry/

*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. 

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.

The Livestock Innovation Corporation is funded in part by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.