Canada: New research scientist joins Prairie Swine Centre

29-04-2010 | Home | News

Lee Whittington, President of Prairie Swine Centre, announced the recruitment of Dr. LeAnn Johnston to its research team.

The Centre, like all parts of the pork industry, has been rationalising facilities, activities and people to ensure survival in the worst economic times the industry has ever faced. In making the announcement Mr. Whittington indicated the importance of this appointment “It is time to begin looking ahead, the industry will be different, but one thing that has not changed is the need for leadership and fresh ideas to assist pork producers to reach new heights in efficiency. With feed costs typically representing 60% or more of the cost of production, reinvesting in our ability to provide nutritional breakthroughs is an area where the industry and the Centre will see immediate and lasting return on investment.”

Dr. LeAnn Johnston has made a career out of serving the commercial pork industry as a swine nutritionist. Dr. Johnston notes that “Developing practical feeding programs and products to meet evolving customer needs was a key part of my work in the feed industry over the past decade. It was stimulating work, but there were always those nagging questions that our current nutrition knowledge could not answer. There is a key role for research to anticipate those evolving needs and address them with practical solutions that is why I was so excited to join the Centre.”

Dr. Johnston’s position will actually replace two vacant positions at the Centre; in addition to her role in nutrition research, Dr. Johnston will be leading the Contract Research group at Prairie Swine Centre. Since inception, Prairie Swine Centre has served the needs of private corporations worldwide that wished to have their products and services evaluated under commercial-like conditions with rigorous scientific oversight. This service plays a significant role in assisting manufacturers to assess product efficacy and safety, and because of the level of expertise developed at the Centre over the past 18 years clients can get the data they need to seek product registration in Canada, the US and European Union.

·©Prairie Swine Centre