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Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture welcomed a national delegation from Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) and Egg Farmers of Nova Scotia (EFNS) on July 28 for an immersive research and partnership visit at the Agricultural Campus in Truro.

Approximately 48 participants, including egg farmers and sector representatives from across Canada, Dalhousie faculty members, researchers and students, took part in the program. The strong turnout provided an opportunity to showcase Dalhousie’s poultry research infrastructure, emerging research talent and capacity to support nationally relevant industry partnerships.

The visit began at the Atlantic Poultry Research Centre, where delegates received a biosecurity briefing and toured the research facilities under the guidance of Mike McConkey and APRC staff. The tour offered a firsthand look at the specialized infrastructure available for controlled poultry research and for validating production, welfare and environmental technologies under commercially relevant conditions.

The research program continued in Jenkins Hall, where Dean Heather Bruce welcomed the delegation and delivered institutional remarks. Brennan Gillis of Dal Partners moderated the session, connecting the scientific presentations with opportunities for industry engagement, research translation and future partnership development. Research presentations were given by Dr. Xujie Li, Dr. Stephanie Collins, Dr. Jing Lu, Dr. Khaled Benis, Dr. Natalie Diether and Dr. Suresh Raja.

A central feature of the visit was the student poster session. Seven student researchers presented work spanning producer-facing poultry applications, public engagement, multimodal sensing and artificial intelligence, poultry digital twins, net-zero pathways, satellite-based greenhouse-gas benchmarking and bioacoustic monitoring of flock behaviour.

Additional displays highlighted poultry behaviour and welfare intelligence, including the integration of computer vision, sound, thermal imaging and environmental data to provide earlier and more objective insight into flock conditions.

The posters generated active discussion among students, producers and sector representatives. Delegates asked practical questions about commercial-farm validation, producer usability, data interpretation and how emerging technologies could support animal welfare, production efficiency, climate resilience and farm-level decision-making.

Faculty presentations expanded the discussion to broader industry priorities, including poultry production, welfare, sustainability, digital monitoring and the future of sector-wide research collaboration.

Associate Professor and Research Chair Suresh Raja connected the individual projects through a broader vision for computational poultry systems. This approach integrates flock intelligence, barn conditions, climate data, artificial intelligence and supply-chain information to develop practical tools that help producers identify meaningful changes earlier, make better-informed decisions and demonstrate measurable value. The vision builds on Dalhousie research in computer vision, thermal sensing, bioacoustics, mobile tools, digital twins and climate intelligence.

The visit demonstrated how Dalhousie’s research facilities, interdisciplinary expertise, student talent and industry relationships can be mobilized around shared national priorities. It also established a foundation for continued conversations with EFC and EFNS about commercial-farm validation, producer-oriented dashboards, climate and sustainability intelligence, poultry welfare monitoring and long-term research collaboration.

More than a research showcase, the event positioned the Truro Agricultural Campus as a place where producers, scientists, students and sector leaders can work together to translate emerging science into practical value for Canadian egg farming.

“The value of this visit was bringing producers, students, researchers and national sector leaders into the same conversation. The next opportunity is to turn that shared understanding into durable, farm-ready research partnerships for Canada’s egg sector.” -  Suresh Raja, Associate Professor and Research Chair