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Dairy industries world-wide face the challenge of maximizing production while, at the same time, producing the highest quality products in a sustainable manner that reflects consumers’ expectations. One important factor in doing so is an understanding of the dairy cow's comfort and welfare needs.

Prof. Elsa Vasseur has been appointed as Industrial Research Chair in Sustainable Life of Dairy Cattle. The Chair, in the Department of Animal Science, is a five-year, $1.8 million joint venture funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Novalait, Dairy Farmers of Canada, and Valacta.

Combining research from animals on the Macdonald Campus dairy farm with data from Valacta, an on-Campus Quebec-based organization that gathers and analyzes data about dairy farming best practices across Eastern Canada, Vasseur’s research team will develop well-being indicators in cows, working toward evidence that comfort and longevity are advantageous both economically and environmentally.

The official launch of the Industrial Research Chair will be held on May 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Macdonald Campus dairy farm. The ceremony will be followed by tours of the dairy facility, demonstrations of student research, and a BBQ luncheon.

When:              May 26, 2016, 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Where:            R. Howard Webster Centre (Macdonald Campus Farm)

                        Macdonald Campus, Â鶹AV
                        21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9

Map link .

Contact:

Kevin Wade, PhD, Chair
Department of Animal Science
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(514) 398-7973
​kevin.wade [at] mcgill.ca

Elsa Vasseur, Industrial Research Chair in Sustainable Life of Dairy Cattle
Department of Animal Science
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(514) 398-7799
elsa.vasseur [at] mcgill.ca

Vincent Allaire
Media Relations Office
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Office: (514) 398-6693
Cell: (514) 704-6693
vincent.allaire [at] mcgill.ca