Farmscape for June 7, 2005  (Episode 1827)

An education centre of excellence for sustainable agricultural production systems, planned as part of the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, will offer the public a first hand look at modern intensive livestock production.

The National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, which is being built at the University of Manitoba's Glenlea Research Farm, will take a whole farm approach to intensive livestock production.

The educational component of the facility is being developed under the working name the “Glenlea Farm Education Centre."

Animal Science Department Head Dr. Karin Wittenberg says the education centre is intended as a research and public education centre of excellence for sustainable agricultural production systems.

Clip-Dr. Karin Wittenberg-University of Manitoba's 

The education centre has as a focus sustainable livestock production.

The education centre will include interactive displays related to the land, so soils and crops displays.

Those displays are focused on the science and technology used in modern sustainable production systems on the land.

The education centre also has the livestock component.

It has a transportation component and a food processing and retailing component in it.

The education centre is a separate entity using the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment as its back drop.

It's an ideal way of highlighting how research can develop new technologies, bring new understanding of science into sustainable safe food production.

Construction of the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment is underway now with the feed mill expected to be complete this summer and the swine facilities expected to be operational in the fall.

Construction of the education centre is slated to begin in 2006.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council