Prairie Livestock Expo Brings Producers Of Many Species Under One Roof

Over 140 exhibitors set up shop Wednesday at the Prairie Livestock Expo held at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg.

 

The show was originally organized more than 30 years ago for the hog and poultry sectors, but was expanded to include multiple livestock species back (including dairy and beef) in 2014.

 

Committee Chair Andrew Dickson explained why the change was made.

 

"There's been a lot of consolidation in the farm service sector in terms of all the different companies merging together and so many of them now offer a wide spectrum of products that cover all the different species," he said. "So when you're an exhibitor and you want to talk to your clients, they're not just a swine producer anymore. Your customers will be swine, dairy, and beef and so they've asked us to increase the audience."

 

The event also included presentations on new and emerging research, in addition to a pork quality competition.

 

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.