| Today’s consumer is becoming
increasingly more aware of the “from the farm to your
plate” process. The emergence of antibiotic resistant
bacteria and the potential risk of chemical residues in
food have caused increased public pressure to reduce the
use of feed added antibiotics and chemical additives in
livestock production.
My research specifically focused on exploring the use
of essential oils from Cinnamon Leaf to replace ionophore
antibiotic use in feeding and nutrition. Such findings
could have a positive impact not only on protein and energy
utilization by dairy cows, but also on the environment
by reducing nitrogen excretion and greenhouse gas emissions.
My time as a graduate student was spent working at two
federal research institutions and Nova Scotia Agricultural
College. I also presented my results at the Joint ADSA-ASAS
annual meeting held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July,
2006. The results of the study were also accepted for
publication with the Journal of Dairy Science. I will
officially convocate in May 2007.
I am currently employed as Sheep Unit Technician at the
Ruminant Animal Center of the NSAC. I manage the college
flock of approximately 155 animals and am actively involved
in teaching sheep production labs. This opportunity has
definitely opened a lot more doors for me, and has been
a learning experience not only academically, but I have
learned life lessons.
The Graduate Research Training Initiative Scholarship
Program is an initiative under the federal-provincial-territorial
Agricultural Policy Framework(2003-2008), funded by Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of
Agriculture. The purpose of this initiative is to provide
financial support to graduate students at the Nova Scotia
Agricultural College (NSAC) whose research will benefit
the Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food industry. This
initiative is intended to encourage qualified students
to undertake graduate studies thus building a professional
capacity to meet the future needs of Nova Scotia's agri-food
industry.
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