CCSI, PSC, CDPQ Collaboration Proving Fruitful

A strategic partnership involving the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement, the Prairie Swine Center and CDPQ has proved quite successful. Two years ago the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement, the Prairie Swine Center and CDPQ formed a strategic research partnership.

 

Last week, those attending the Canadian Center for Swine Improvement 2020 Annual General Meeting were updated on the progress of that partnership. Prairie Swine Center CEO Dr. Murrray Pettitt says the three organizations have a history of working together and the partnership formalized that relationship.

 

 

Prairie Swine Centre is a swine research facility located just outside of Saskatoon, affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan. We focus on practical research for the swine industry in the areas of engineering, ethology and nutrition. The Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement is a genetic evaluation organization and they focus on performing genetic evaluation for producers who want to make progress on the genetic attributes of their herds.

 

CDPQ is somewhat similar to the Prairie Swine Centre in that they perform research in Quebec as well as provide other kinds of information for the industry within Quebec in terms of extension material. The three organization, all of them have a practical approach to things so the research that we're working on is very much geared toward what can be used at the producer level, at the farm level and what can they implement and hopefully improve their profitability or sustainability.

 

We have common areas that we like to work on. That is the ability to provide this practical information to the industry.We focus in on projects that will result in something that producers can adopt within their own systems.

Video: Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

As more and more Canadians become removed from farms and ranches, many people have questions about how animals are being raised on Canadian farms. Tiffany Martinka is active on social media and has made a point of sharing how their family farm takes care of their chickens. In this podcast, Tiffany explains the audited programs that all Canadian farmers must follow and describes how this system of raising chickens is unique in a global setting.

The main points of this podcast include:

What it is like on a broiler chicken farm and the process that chicken farmers go through.

The different programs that farmers must follow, and be audited on, to be licensed to sell broiler chicken in Canada.

The full circle of practices on Tiffany’s family farm, including growing their own feed for chickens, then recycling the manure back onto the fields to grow future crops.