UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre

08/03/2023

Marley Blok, an alumna of the Applied Biology program, volunteers with Veterinarians without Borders to create sustainable socioeconomic change in rural communities by improving health in animal production systems.

Blok's work emphasizes the One Health Model, which aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and the environment. This approach "recognizes that the health of people, the environment, and animals are all interconnected and dependent on each other.”

Currently working in the Upper East region of Ghana alongside local Community Animal Health Workers, para-veterinarians, and veterinary officers, Blok has vaccinated over 5000 animals across 13 regional communities.

To read more about Blok's story: https://ow.ly/eOcr50Prch9

09/12/2022

Meet Darren Clay, one of the 12 chefs that will be cooking for you at Joy of Feeding, an outdoor food festival and fundraiser for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) and Chefs' Table Society of British Columbia.

Darren has been a part of Joy of Feeding since its inception in 2011. He has hosted home cooks first in the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) and later in UBC Food Services kitchens. With some gentle guidance, he helped home cooks adjust their precious recipes for 6- 8 people to recipes for 700!

Darren’s passion for food began at an early age. Every morning a loaf of unsliced bologna and bread was left out for him to saw through and create his own haphazardly shaped meat and mustard sandwich. Fast forward a number of years where he achieved his Red Seal with Fairmont Hotels in Vancouver, various establishments in Singapore with Raffles Hotel Group and learned efficiency and systems with Cactus Club Cafe. Darren then settled into his role as Executive Culinary Chef at the PICA on Granville Island.

Wanting to give back to the industry, Darren sat on various ITA advisory committees, is a long time board member and current President of the Chefs’ Table Society of BC and was a part of the original Joy of Feeding steering committee, raising awareness and funds for the CSFS.

Darren is currently the Executive Sous Chef with UBC Food Services overseeing the Residence Dining program, and proudly working to bring local, sustainable and healthy options to students and staff. Darren is dad to 5 children, his oldest starting McGill university this year. He can’t remember the last bologna sandwich he ate.

As an ode to the Farm, Darren will be preparing harissa roasted UBC Farm carrot toast with whipped ricotta and pickled UBC Farm fennel.

Grab a bite of Darren’s dish at Joy of Feeding on October 2! https://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/joy-of-feeding/

06/29/2020

Congratulations to Hannah Spitzer, an undergraduate student in LFS who recently won the 2020 Canadian Society of Animal Science Award for Undergraduate Achievement.

Hannah is currently an NSERC Undergraduate scholar, doing research at the UBC Dairy Centre in Agassiz under the supervision of Dr. Nina von Keyserlingk.

Learn more about Hannah as one of our profiles about class of 2020: https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/meet-the-lfs-class-of-2020/

04/15/2020

Research Report: Lameness in dry cows: a link to transition disease?
Cows often become sick in the ‘transition’ period around calving, and many dairy cows are lame. Recent research studied the development of lameness during the dry period, and the association between lameness and the risk of transition cow diseases like metritis.
To learn more visit: http://ow.ly/57Sg50z6GeR

04/06/2020

Got a moody teenager? Cows can relate.
In a new study, Researchers from the UBC Animal Welfare Program at the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems conducted the long-term study to understand the development and stability of personality traits over dairy cattle’s lifetime.

Dairy cattle undergo personality changes during puberty much like humans do, according to new UBC research published this week in the Royal Society Open Science.

04/06/2020

Lunch Break Listens
Today's podcast: What makes a happy cow? Christine Powell’s search to answer this question led her to the Dairy Education and Research Centre. This podcast is student created in LFS 400: Audio Storytelling class where students can explore topics of their choice and learn how to make a podcast.
Listen here: http://ow.ly/3lQq50z6I74

04/06/2020

Research Report: Pedometers on dairy cattle can point to better fertility. The UBC Dairy Education and Researcher Centre is studying how pedometers could better identify estrus behaviour, with the goal of getting cows pregnant efficiently.
Learn more: http://ow.ly/LKB050z6Fiv

09/17/2019

Congratulations to the UBC Dairy Centre students for winning first place in the annual Agassiz Fall Fair and Corn Festival parade last weekend!

04/17/2018

Anne-Marieke Smid, a PhD student at the Dairy Centre, shares her research on dairy cows and outdoor environments in the spring issue of the BC Holstein News.

Mean (± SEM) percentage of time groups of lactating dairy cows (n = 8 groups) spent outside and inside the free-stall barn during the night (20:00 – ~ 8:00) when provided a free choice between the free-stall barn and pasture and between the free-stall barn and a sand pack (adapted from Smid et al...

02/08/2018

In a new study, UBC Animal Welfare Program Professors Marina von Keyserlingk and Daniel Weary have found some dairy cows are inherently optimistic or pessimistic, just as humans are. The next step is to understand what type of conditions suit each individual to ensure they have a good life.

Some calves are inherently optimistic or pessimistic, just as humans are, a new University of British Columbia study has found.

07/22/2017

Our annual Open House is today!
Stop by anytime before 4:00pm to meet student researchers and learn about our education programs. All are welcome!

More info: http://dairycentre.landfood.ubc.ca/events/ubc-dairy-centre-open-house-2017/