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From Research to Adoption: Renewed Research and Extension Objectives Support a Thriving Beef Sector

Strategic and collaborative investments in research and knowledge mobilization are strengthening the Canadian beef sector as it responds to rising global food production demands and adapts to increasingly challenging environments and capacity restraints. Today the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and its industry partners released a renewed five-year strategy designed to encourage collaboration and better target funding toward high-priority beef research and extension objectives.  

The Five-Year Canadian Beef Research & Knowledge Mobilization Strategy provides a coordinated national framework to align investment, accelerate innovation and ensure research outcomes lead to measurable impact for beef producers, the broader value chain and the public. Built upon the success of previous iterations, the new Strategy will help accomplish the National Beef Strategy’s ambitious 10-year goals. It is intended to guide investments of the BCRC and other Canadian beef research funding agencies to improve efficiency with limited funding. By encouraging greater collaboration across funding agencies through a portfolio approach, the Strategy ensures key research, capacity and extension priorities are addressed in a coordinated manner.  

The Strategy reflects extensive industry engagement to ensure priorities are grounded in producer needs and real-world challenges across the value chain. More than 500 stakeholders across Canada participated through a combination of national surveys, focus groups and engagement sessions, including producers, veterinarians, researchers, government representatives, industry organizations, funders and extension specialists.

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Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey

Video: Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey


In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Johnson from Iowa State University and Emma Coursey from the University of Illinois discuss research evaluating welfare resources during the late finishing stage on commercial swine farms. They explain how feeder management, water use, space allocation, and pig health influence welfare outcomes and practical on-farm management. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Small resource issues can become larger welfare problems when multiple stressors interact across finishing barns."

Meet the guests: Dr. Anna Johnson / anna-johnson-05028a14 is the Morrill Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Iowa State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Texas Tech University and completed her master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on practical solutions that improve farm animal welfare, including sow productive lifetime, animal-human interaction, environmental enrichment, and Precision Livestock Farming.

Emma Coursey / emma-coursey-183810241 is pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine after earning a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. Her academic interests include swine health, production, and animal welfare, with research experience evaluating welfare resources in commercial finishing pigs.