Several industry awards have been bestowed upon Dr. Patience by the pork industry for his insight into industry needs and his dedication to making that information practical, assisting pork producers to implement the technology quickly. Dr. Patience has accepted a new position in swine research and extension at Iowa State University beginning in September 2008.

An industry-oriented approach is the cornerstone of the Prairie Swine Centre’s philosophy in research, technology transfer and graduate education programs, and continues to be enhanced with the hiring of research staff and the building of new facilities. Most recently on June 10, 2008 a new Sow Research Unit was opened at Prairie Swine Centre with pork producers, industry and research personnel from across Saskatchewan and beyond touring the new facility. “The facility will provide two key advantages to Prairie Swine Centre. This new barn will lower our cost of producing pork as well as providing modern flexible facilities for researchers to address the concerns and opportunities in sow housing and management. The legacy that was started by Dr. Patience and supported by research, technical and administrative staff at the Centre over these many years will be well-served by this most recent barn construction“ notes Lee Whittington, who will be replacing Dr. Patience as Acting President of Prairie Swine Centre.

Mr. Whittington, previously the Manager of Information Services, joined the Centre in 1992 to develop and manage an industry-focused information program that would rapidly and effectively bring new research information to the pork industry. The technology transfer program and Mr. Whittington have received international recognition and several awards for the innovative and effective approaches used to speed the adoption of new technology by pork producers.

Dr. Denise Beaulieu a Research Assistant with Prairie Swine Centre since 2001 has recently accepted a promotion to Research Scientist in Nutrition. Dr. Beaulieu’s research work at the Centre has included novel work in phosphorus digestion in the pig, and the effect of variation in birth weight and variation in growth rate of the growing-finishing pig on herd productivity and profitability. These projects have lead to Dr. Beaulieu receiving both industry and academic awards in Canada and the United States for her work.

Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering and applied animal behaviour.