As a leading poultry researcher at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), Schwean-Lardner explores improved light, housing, and feed systems for better welfare, healthier chicken, and egg production in Canada — and she’s not afraid to feed the wild chickens she meets on holiday in Hawaii.
And nobody is more excited than Schwean-Lardner about what a new state-of-the-art poultry laying facility at USask would mean for her research field — and her birds.
“This will move us so far forward in poultry research,” she said. “This is causing me to push back my retirement because I want the first experiment in a system like this. This is so exciting.”
A proposed, cutting-edge poultry laying facility has received more than $6.2 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund, which supports developing infrastructure to further world-leading research in Canada. In addition, $3 million has been contributed to the new facility by Saskatchewan Egg Producers, an independent farmer-run organization of egg producers in the province, and an additional $1 million has been contributed by USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
“The development of this new facility positions USask to continue as a Canadian and world leader in poultry research and animal welfare,” said USask Vice-President Research Baljit Singh. “This funding is a tremendous show of support and vote of confidence from the government and our industry partners for the excellent agricultural research that takes place at USask.”
Schwean-Lardner is a professor in USask’s Department of Animal and Poultry Science in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources and the lead researcher on the project. She and Dr. Deborah Adewole (PhD), an assistant professor and poultry expert in the same department, are excited for the opportunity to set a new standard in Canadian poultry research with these new facilities.
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