September 21, 2010

Canada invests in swine research project

The government of Canada is investing in an innovative project that will benefit Canadian swine.

Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture), announced that Coop fédérée will receive up to US$80,000 to study and develop feeding recommendations to maximise sow milk production through gestation, ensuring optimal growth of suckling piglets.

The funding will go towards studying the effects and benefits of a multi-step feeding regime during gestation on mammary development and lactation performance. Milk production of sows is vital to producing healthy piglets, as heavier piglets are more vigorous and more resistant to disease. Developing and studying nutrition strategies will help improve lactation performance of sows. Researchers will make feeding recommendations that will assist producers in improving performance without creating additional feed costs.
 

This project is being funded by the Developing Innovative Agri-Products initiative, which supports industry-led science and technology projects. The initiative is part of the larger Growing Canadian Agri-Innovations Program, a US$158 million five-year programme that promotes industry-led innovation initiatives that help get new agricultural products into the marketplace and improve agricultural processes.
 

In addition, Canada's Economic Action Plan supports agriculture as a core economic driver in this country.