RESEARCH TOPICS
My overall goal is to integrate animal production and welfare science with compassion and technology to improve:
Farm animal health and welfare
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Farmer well-being, mental health, and quality of life
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Health and welfare of free-living wild animals, barn cats, and northern dogs
ANIMAL HEALTH:
HOUSING AND MANAGEMENT TO PREVENT HEALTH DISORDERS
Which factors are related to good and poor animal welfare on farm?
Which housing and management practices optimize animal hygiene, health and production, and reduce the expression of stereotypic and harmful behaviours while satisfying motivations and preferences?
ANIMAL HEALTH:
MONITORING AND ILLNESS DETECTION USING BIG DATA
Which data can we use to better monitor animal health and make management decisions?
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How can we use precision ag technologies and machine learning to improve illness detection models?
ANIMAL HEALTH:
TREATMENTS AND INTERVENTIONS
What are the most practical and effective measures to improve animal health?
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What low cost, small changes to barn design or management practices can improve animal welfare and do not involve total barn renovations?
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Which footbath protocols and products are best for dairy cow hoof health, farmer health, and the environment?
FARMER MENTAL HEALTH
AND
QUALITY OF LIFE
Despite being the toughest people around (or maybe because of it!), farmers have higher levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression than the average Canadian (Jones-Bitton et al. 2019).
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What are the factors related to good and poor mental health for farmers? Are there connections between farmer mental health and animal welfare?
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Do new technologies improve farmer quality of life and efficiency?