Two students who presented posters showcasing on-going applied research projects at Lakeland College finished in first and second place at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) in Saskatoon in August. The competition consisted of two categories: college/undergrad/diploma and master's/PhD students.
"Involving students at all post-secondary levels in our work in applied research is essential to the longevity of research in agriculture," says Dr. Francois Paradis, director of applied research at Lakeland College. "It helps develop the next generation of research scientists who in turn will go on to study methodologies to make the industry more sustainable and efficient. We are always incredibly proud when our students represent Lakeland and the work we do so well at important events like this one. Congratulations!"
Stephanie Ullrich, an animal science technology student, placed first in the competition. She presented a poster called "Where's my bull and is he working?" which contained an overview of a Lakeland study under Dr. Susan Markus' supervision. The study investigates methods of keeping track of bulls in remote areas, using GPS tags and satellite data. The bulls' activity in relation to the cows is tracked, enabling producers to determine if any issues are arising that need further investigation. The technology could be a time saver for producers who have animals farther from their homes, or in remote areas.
Kyleigh Magotiaux, who placed second, is working with Lakeland researcher Dr. Brenda Ralston on a project addressing the issues of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Her poster, entitled "Enhancing cattle health and performance through targeted supplement optimization and evaluation," further addressed data that had been collected earlier in two previous studies. Magotiaux is in the college's bachelor of agriculture technology program.
Somtochukwu (Somto) Obiora, a master's student at the University of Saskatchewan who is doing his project under the direction of Lakeland researcher Dr. Obioha Durunna, also presented a poster at the conference. His poster was called "Effect of winter swath grazing either polycrop mixture or oat monoculture on biomass, nutritive value, forage utilization, dry matter intake, rumen pH and steer performance."
The posters provided research findings but were to be developed with a grassroots lens. It was important that the students' presentations considered the producers' viewpoint and created their posters accordingly. The students then gave their presentations to interested producers and industry representatives during session breaks at the conference. The students with the top three posters in each category were invited to give a three-minute presentation on their poster on centre stage at the conference, and Ullrich and Magotiaux were awarded first and second place respectively.
