In order to meet the increased worldwide demand for UK pig products and services, JSR Genetics have purchased a 650 sow nucleus unit in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The unit, located outside Saskatoon at Elstow, has been purchased from the Prairie Swine Centre, which has a strong reputation for applied pig research to pig businesses both in Canada and in international markets.

Tim Rymer, Chairman of JSR Genetics said, ''We intend to use the unit as a Centre of Excellence for our genetic improvement programme by utilising the training facilities and interactive gallery for our customers and their technicians across the Latin American and Asian markets.''

Dr Grant Walling, Research and Genetics Director, added ''The Elstow Nucleus will be connected to the UK, and our other Nucleus units around the world, by our bespoke software JSR SELECT. This will further accelerate genetic improvement in our key traits. The Praire Swine Centre is well known for its proficiency in R&D, and our co-operation with them will bring additional expertise to our technical team.''