Title
Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Swine SpecialistOffice Building
Animal Science ComplexOffice
101Mailing Address
Animal Science Complex 101Animal Science-Box 2170
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Biography
At South Dakota State University, I am eagerly continuing my passion for research with Animal Science and with Extension enjoying working directly with South Dakota's pork producers.I developed an interest in swine nutrition as a youth working on farm with my family in Alberta, Canada. I was working in the farrowing rooms of PigPen Hog Farms, a 1600-sow isowean facility and it occurred to me that there was so much difference between sows at the same stage of production and similar genetics that I thought there has to be something missing nutritionally. This led me to pursue a master's and a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Alberta following my undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Prince Edward Island.
Social Media Links
Education
- B.S. in honors chemistry | University of Prince Edward Island | 2003
- M.S. in animal science | University of Alberta | 2008
- Ph.D. in animal science | University of Alberta | 2011
Academic Responsibilities
The 1,200-head SDSU Offsite Wean-to-Finish Production Barn is stocked from an outside pig source, allowing for production-scale research. The barn is a shower in, shower out facility with biosecurity procedures to reduce disease transmission. Animals are housed in the facility from weaning (10 to 15 lbs) to market weight (280 to 295 lbs) and the barn is operated as all in, all out. The barn is tunnel-ventilated with a 8-ft. deep pit underneath and set up according to commercial pork industry standards. The building contains 50 total pens in two rooms. Approximately 26 pigs are housed per pen, providing 9 sq. ft. per pig space when stocked at 1,200 head. A pen scale in the middle of the barn allows pig weights to be gathered from one pen at a time with minimal handling effort. Dedicated water lines allow for up to four separate water treatments to be investigated. A feeding system from Feedlogic ComDel Innovation provides up to five different dietary treatments in the barn as it automatically moves and delivers the correct diets throughout the facility on a ceiling-mounted rail.
Committees and Professional Memberships
- Canadian Society of Animal Science (CSAS)
- American Society of Animal Science (ASAS)
Extension Responsibilities
- PQA Plus advisor certification training
- PQA Plus individual certification training
- PQA Plus site assessment
- TQA certification training
Grants
- Improving feed efficiency of growing to finishing pigs fed high DDGS containing diet with different branched-chain amino acids to lysine ratio (NPB #21-103).
Work Experience
Prior to joining SDSU Extension, I worked as a research project manager with Alltech at the Center for Animal Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition in Nicholasville, Kentucky. My research focus was Alltech nutritional solutions for monogastric agricultural animals.
Areas of Research
- Improving production efficiency of growing and finishing swine through the application of feed and management technologies.
Department(s)
Image for Department of Animal Science
Department of Animal Science
Image for SDSU Extension
SDSU Extension