14 The Trusted Source for Canada’s Pork Producers Better Pork | February 2024 students. As well, the new herd is open, meaning for future research, different genetics can be brought in through acclimatization, opening up new realms of genetics and nutrition interaction research. “We know different genetic lines have different nutritional requirements, so we should have a good cross-section of genetics in the barn to make good recommendations and be relevant to industry,” she says. Much of her research is funded by Ontario Pork, in large part because of that practical, industry-focused approach, she adds. Huber then works to match that funding from federal, provincial and even private industry partners to maximize the reach of each project. She also uses a multi-pronged approach to getting research into practice (GRIP), presenting results at events and conferences attended by producers and industry and encouraging her graduate students to develop information for presentation to different audiences. She also participates in podcasts, which are increasingly becoming a popular information source. Carbon and sustainability An area she hopes to begin exploring is assessing the environmental footprint of pork production from birth to farm gate in order to get some true data that reflects current industry realities. “A lot of calculations for carbon emissions right now are napkin math. You can estimate relative differences, but if you start to put dollars and cents in a cap-and-trade system, you need to know for sure that your absolute values are correct, so we are hoping to try to generate some data to put real value on those,” she says. She’s also looking at a project bringing together many swine researchers across Canada that will identify ways to upcycle food waste and food loss back into the pork production cycle. The goal is to recapture those nutrients instead of letting them go to landfill or into biodigesters. “We also need to involve food science and soil science to deal with all aspects of recovering food waste, from logistics to how we use the product, how valuable pigs find it, and what the fertilization values of the resulting manure are,” she adds. “We want to look at it from a whole life cycle perspective.” BP This article is provided by Livestock Research Innovation Corporation as part of LRIC’s ongoing efforts to report on research, innovation, and issues affecting the Canadian livestock industry. LRIC is funded in part by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Ontario Swine Research Centre is owned by the Government of Ontario through its agency, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, and managed by the University of Guelph through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and U of G. Dr. Huber’s Research LILIAN SCHAER Lilian Schaer is an agricultural journalist with over two decades of experience in the Canadian agri-food industry. The new Elora facility increases the scope of research Huber can undertake. Glenn Ruegg photo
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