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Transformation and opportunity
CEO Commentary: As we turn the calendar to 2025, it’s a fitting time to reflect on how far we’ve come and set our sights on what lies ahead in Ontario’s livestock innovation landscape. The past year has underscored the critical importance of collaboration, resilience, and forward-thinking as we navigate a rapidly changing world.
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News release: New Director of Research joins Livestock Research Innovation Corporation
January 15, 2025: Stephanie Lam, Ph.D., has assumed the newly created role of Director of Research at Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC). Lam comes to LRIC from the University of Guelph, where she held a Research Associate position in the Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock and managed projects in the beef, dairy and sheep industries.
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How much methane are swine barns actually producing – and how can that be reduced?
Better Pork, December 2024: A lack of ground-truthed science is often a source of frustration for farmers when policymakers set arbitrary targets or goals for the industry to work towards. In the case of methane emissions from livestock production: how much is actually being produced and how much should the reduction be? What are the most effective solutions to create that change that will also be practical and affordable to implement on farm?
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Funding opportunities
Cybersecurity Preparedness Initiative: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, closing January 20, 2025
Visit LRIC's website for more information on the funding opportunities
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Sector-specific innovation highlights*
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Poultry: Boosting sustainability with high tech imaging
Scientists from the University of Illinois say hyperspectral imaging technology can help producers identify viable embryos early in the incubation process. This could help hatcheries improve hatching rates and productivity while simultaneously lowering bird losses and production costs. Additional research is needed to further validate the technology, however, as it is still in its infancy.
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Swine: Getting an early heads up on disease problems with RIFD tech
Tracking the feeding behaviours of individual pigs with RFID technology could serve as an early disease warning system for producers. Automated 24/7 monitoring tracks the feeding and drinking habits of pigs in real time, providing farmers with early insights they can use to prevent or minimize potential losses, according to researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who are leading the project.
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Beef: Genetics hold the key to reducing emissions, says researcher
Well-known researcher and science communicator Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam believes the underestimated and underused tool in reducing livestock emissions is genetics. This is particularly true in low-to-middle income countries who have some of the world’s largest herds as well as the biggest forecasted increases in protein demand. Efficiencies are already being seen in high-income countries, she notes.
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Dairy: AI can unlock the secrets of cow communication
Artificial intelligence can give farmers real insights into what their dairy cattle are feeling – in real time. A Dalhousie University research team is harnessing AI and natural language processing to decode cow sounds to identify whether the animal is content, stressed or reacting to its environment. The team’s AI model can distinguish between stress and contentment with 98% accuracy, says lead researcher Dr. Suresh Neethirajan.
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Small ruminants: New preg-checking tools for sheep producers
Sheep farmers in Australia now have access to new resources to help the industry increase its pregnancy checking rates for ewes. A 2018 survey showed almost 70% of farmers did not scan pregnant ewes for litter size. As part of a project run by Meat & Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation, researchers found pregnancy scanning in sheep increases profit by an average of $5.55 AUD per ewe scanned.
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Cross-sector innovation highlights*
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Emissions: Genome editing could cut cattle methane emissions
Researchers in Nigeria are suggesting that converting livestock gut microbes to produce acetate — a short-chain fatty acid — instead of methane will help curb emissions without reducing productivity or herd size. CRISPR gene-editing can be used to modify specific genes to reduce or eliminate methane production.
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Traceability: Seafood one of the world’s most illegally produced commodities
A new report from the FAIRR investor network suggests the global aquaculture sector has high levels of unreported and unregulated fishing due to a lack of data and digital systems, an aging workforce and lack of technical expertise. Investors can play a key role in encouraging the industry to establish robust, innovation-based traceability systems, authors conclude.
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Cellular agriculture: The strange future of lab-grown meat
An Australian biotech start-up has created the world’s first cell-meat factory. Its production is focusing not on beef, pork or poultry but rather on quail, crocodile and other “weird” meats to achieve viable scale. Focusing on the unusual is a cornerstone of the company’s growth and success strategy in a market that has so far failed to bring early promised successes.
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Five ridiculous ag-tech stories from 2024
From soup vandalism to sake brewed in space, some of last year’s agri-food news was just down-right wacky!
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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.
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.
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The Livestock Innovation Corporation is funded in part by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a 5-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

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