Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

2000 College Street
Sherbrooke, Quebec
J1M 0C8
Telephone: 819-565-9171
Email: aafc.info.aac@canada.ca
Latitude: 45.368672
Longitude: −71.830031
Search Scientific Staff and Expertise (Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre) to learn more about the expertise of agricultural scientists working at this centre, and to find a list of their research publications.
Search Research projects from the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre to learn more about what we do.
The Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre was established in 1914 in Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec. The centre is the only Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centre specialized in innovative research primarily for the Canadian dairy and swine industries.
The centre leads research in three key areas:
- Environmental sustainability
- Dairy and swine production systems
- Dairy and swine health and welfare
Facilities at the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre
- Modern laboratories (5,820 square metres) and animal facilities for dairy cattle and swine, sows and their breeding, growing and finishing
- Specialized facilities for:
- radioimmunoassay
- cell culture
- molecular biology and genetic engineering
- meat quality evaluation
- metabolic cages and equipment for individual feed intake evaluation
- environmental laboratories
- bioreactors
- an olfactometry laboratory
Current research activities
- Improving nutrition efficiency while minimizing the negative environmental effects of dairy and swine production
- Improving swine welfare
- Investigating ways to reduce the greenhouse gas contribution associated with livestock production
- Studying the biology of lactation in both dairy and swine
- Investigating ways to minimize stress and optimize the immune system of dairy cows and swine
- Investigating the use of biological products and processes for treating farm wastes
Results of our research
- Enhancing the sector’s productivity
- Identified B-complex vitamin requirements for high-production cows
- Reviewed essential amino acid requirements for cows
- Identified fatty acid requirements in fertility control for cows
- Enhanced knowledge in genetics, physiology and biochemistry of dairy production
- Identified vitamin requirements for sows and boars
- Developed an individual feeding system for animals housed in groups (pork)
- Enhanced knowledge of lactation physiology in sows
- Discovered genetic markers for meat quality (pork)
- Developed a DNA vaccine against bovine mastitis
- Enhancing environmental performance
- Developed a procedure for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cows
- Developed an anaerobic fermentation system for animal waste. The key feature of this system is that it can function at low temperatures
Related information
- Researchers Find Pork Molecule Boosts Meat Quality (2018-04-11)
- Feeding Piglets Without Antibiotics Shows Great Potential (2017-09-11)
- A Bioreactor Adapted to the Canadian Climate (video) (2015-08-17)
- Custom Hog Feeding (video) (2015-08-17)
- Reducing greenhouse gases in dairy production (video) (2015-08-17)
- Improving hog wellbeing (video) (2015-08-17)
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