Swine Innovation Porc Announces Four New Research Projects

Jan 27, 2026

Swine Innovation Porc has announced the approval of four new research projects under its first “Advancing Swine Research” call for proposals. Swine Innovation Porc has released details of the first set of research projects under its Advancing Swine Research call for proposals.

Supported by the Pork Promotion and Research Agency and administered by Swine Innovation Porc, the new national initiative is designed to strengthen the resiliency, sustainability and competitiveness of Canada’s pork sector.Swine Innovation General Manager Daniel Ramage says this initial research call focussed on four priority research areas and the work is being done by leading research teams and institutions with strong experience in Canadian pork research.

Quote-Daniel Ramage-Swine Innovation Porc:

We have a project that is focussed on alternative housing, so that includes loose lactation systems.That's a project that's being led by the Prairie Swine Centre and they're collaborating with the Ontario Swine Research Centre.We have a project that is looking at developing vaccines for PED and for Deltacoronavirus.

That's being led by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan.We have a project that is looking at strengthening sustainability but also improving profitability by reducing costs and reducing things like heat stress in finishing barns through passive radiative cooling, for example new paints and approaches that can be applied to barns to help minimise heat stress.

That's being led by the University of Laval in Quebec and then the last project is being led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and their research station out of Lacombe.That's a project all around food safety and looking at the opportunities to lower cooking temperatures.

Ramage says Swine Innovation Porc is investing just under 490 thousand dollars in the four projects which will be leveraging about 1.18 million dollars in total research funding.Further information can be accessed at research.swineinnovationporc.ca.

Source : Farmscape.ca

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.