Livestock Innovation

Open research calls

• Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) 

More details here

LRIC in the news

Beef in the spotlight on farm tour day for new Guelph faculty members: Ontario Beef, December 2020

Feed ingredients play a role in effectiveness of medicated feeds, research shows: Ontario Hog Farmer, December 2020/January 2021

Sector-specific

Poultry: Smart barn trying to avoid heat stress loss

Brazilian researchers have developed a smart, low-cost climate control system for poultry barns that can monitor and automatically manage the interior environment in real-time.

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Swine: Extruded grains may be better for pig digestibility

University Illinois research has found that feeding extruded grains to pigs could improve protein and energy digestibility. Extruded products are commonly used in pet and fish feed, but not in swine rations.

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Beef: New skin test for bovine TB

Welsh researchers have developed two new Bovine Tuberculosis skin tests for cattle that can distinguish between animals with the disease and those that have been vaccinated. The traditionally used test only identifies the presence of TB, but not whether that is as a result of vaccination or infection.

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Dairy: Eucalyptus reduces methane in dairy calves

An eucalyptus leaf extract has been found to be successful in reducing methane production in dairy calves. The extract significantly reduces the amount of methane in hte rumen and improves calves' health status, says the study by Egypt's Animal Production Research Institute.

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Small ruminants: NZ sheep and goat farms nearing carbon neutrality

Research from the Auckland University of Technology has found that sheep and goat farms in New Zealand are offsetting between 63 and 118 per cent fo their on-farm agricultural emissions. This is strengthening calls formal recognition of on-farm carbon sequestration; absolute greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand sheep and goat production has dropped by 30 per cent since 1990.

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Cross-sector

Climate change: Plants can reduce flooded grassland emissions

Soil biology research from Wageningen University in the Netherlands has found that certain plant species can help lower nitrogen losses that result when grasslands are flooded. Tall fescue, for example, was found to lower flood-induced nitrous oxide emissions by 54% compared to other monocultures.

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Agtech: Livestock management from space

Over 1000 feral buffalo and unmanaged cattle in Australia's Northern Territory will be tagged and tracked through a satellite-based tracking program. The goal is to gather real-time, geographically-accurate information on herd density, accessibility and transport costs to create new best practices for using space technology to manage large herds. Information will also be used to help Indigenous communities realize opportunities from the animals, which are currently considered destructive pests.

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Sustainability: California converting livestock emissions to renewable natural gas

A new Dairy Digester Research and Development Program in California provides funding for dairy farmers to install methane digesters for production of renewable natural gas for transportation fuel. California is aiming to reduce dairy manure methane emissions by 40% by 2030; the state estimates its 1.4 million dairy cows to be its largest source of methane.

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On the horizon

Circular economy: Turning poultry waste into green fuel

Brazilian researchers are exploring the viability of converting poultry bone waste into a green biodiesel via hydrogenation. The goal is to add value to a current farm waste stream as well as mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

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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.