Research
Our goal is to be a global leader in research excellence focused on dairy-related questions. Our current faculty have active research programs focused on reproduction, animal welfare, and the rumen microbiome.
We welcome researchers from all fields to contact us to discuss potential collaborations.
For an overview of published journal articles from faculty members working at the Dairy Centre, please view our Google Scholar page.
Solutions to Complex Issues
We recognize the growing need to identify and implement sustainable practices that mitigate farming’s environmental footprint while being socially acceptable and economically viable. Our researchers address these complex questions at the Dairy Centre, in collaboration with commercial dairy farms in the lower Fraser Valley region.
Technology in the Barns
The Dairy Centre is home to approximately 500+ experimental animals, of which about 250 are milked daily in our newly installed automated milking system units. The Dairy Centre is also fitted with numerous technologies that support the research, such as automatic feed intake bins that allow us to monitor individual intakes in group-housed dairy cows, and video surveillance capabilities throughout all of the buildings.
Research Ethics for Animals
We are dedicated to the welfare of the cattle living at our facility. As such, we operate under the strict procedures and protocols of UBC’s Animal Care Committee, which safeguards the treatment of animals involved in study-based university programs. The guidelines that must be adhered to are based on guidance provided by the Canadian Council on Animal Care on the Care and Use of Farm Animals in Research. The committee “recognizes that involving animals in teaching and research is a privilege, not a right” and we are fully committed to that responsibility. All animals when not assigned to a specific animal ethics research protocol is covered under the Herd Breeding protocol. All staff involved in the day to day care of dairy animals on the farm have completed the ACC ethics training.
Movement of animals from the breeding protocol to a specific research studies can only be done once the specific study has been approved by the UBC Animal Care ethics committee.
Research Ethics for Humans
Research involving human subjects such as when engaging in interview based studies or other related work involving discussions with farmers, veterinarians or other key actors involved in the dairy industry must be approved by the Behavioural Research Ethics Board.
