Yolande Seddon, an associate professor in swine behavior and welfare at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently named the renewed University of Saskatchewan Chair in Swine Welfare during the annual Banff Pork Seminar.
“This is a very special commitment that speaks to the unified engagement of the industry in supporting swine welfare,” said Seddon, whose research focuses on the behavior and welfare of farmed pigs. “A sustainable future for production efficiency and national food security is strengthened by addressing swine welfare challenges and advancing research in this area. This chair position is a major resource for developing a strategic research focus, providing the Canadian swine industry with options for implementing our findings into industry practice.”
Seddon served as the first Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Swine Welfare at USask from 2018 to 2024. The $2-million research program was supported by NSERC and 14 industry partners—one of the largest partnerships of its kind in Canada.
Fourteen industry partners—including 13 of the original funders—have extended their financial commitment to swine behavior and welfare research, renewing a second chair term from 2024 to 2030. Representing Canadian pig producers, processors and veterinarians, the partners include Olymel S.E.C./L.P., Maple Leaf Foods, HyLife Ltd., Conestoga Meat Packers, Sunterra Farms, BC Pork Producers Association, Alberta Pork, Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, Manitoba Pork Council, Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board, Porcima Inc. (a company of Les Éleveurs de Porcs du Québec), PEI Hog Commodity Marketing Board, New Brunswick Pork and Swine Veterinary Partners.
Click here to see more...