Lethbridge Research and Development Centre
The Lethbridge Research and Development Centre (Lethbridge RDC) was established in 1906 in Lethbridge, Alberta. It is one the largest facilities within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) network of 20 research and development centres.
The Centre is associated with one satellite location: Vauxhall Research Farm.
Areas of Research
The Lethbridge RDC leads research on beef cattle production systems (health and welfare, food safety, microbiology); crop production (agronomy, breeding, genetics, pathology) and sustainable production systems under dryland and irrigated conditions associated with farming in a semi-arid climate.
Research activities focus on supporting the long-term competitiveness of the sector while reducing the environmental footprint of agricultural practices and maintaining the health and productivity of the agro-ecosystem.
Search Research projects from the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre to learn more about what we do.
Sector Needs
The Lethbridge RDC carries out innovative research, development, technology and knowledge transfer activities in support of the AAFC's Strategic Plan for Science, which includes:
Lethbridge RDC has a national mandate for research on feedlot finishing of beef cattle, with a focus on enhancing productivity, reducing adverse environmental impacts, addressing concerns regarding food safety (with a production focus), including antibiotic resistance, animal health and welfare, and mitigating disease threats and their vectors.
Lethbridge RDC’s germplasm and rumen microbe collections support research programs by providing a long-term repository of microbial diversity. The world-class collection includes anaerobic rumen fungi, a broad representation of rumen bacteria including those that are prominent in fibre digestion, and plant-associated fungi and bacteria (pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates).
New varieties (potatoes, beans, wheat, triticale, rye and forages), sustainable crop production and protection technologies are developed for crops on dry and irrigated lands, adapted to the Canadian prairies. Discovery type science and innovation are conducted using novel technologies, such as remote sensing and imaging technologies, plant biotechnologies and increasing the integration with biological science, breeding, agronomy and farming.
Lethbridge RDC’s research includes nutrient cycling associated with cropping and livestock production; monitoring crop and environmental health using remote sensing and imaging technologies; and ecological modeling to understand the impact of various management practices at the farm level on the local environment.
Meet our Scientists
Find out more about the scientists at Lethbridge Research and Development Centre through their profiles below.
You can also visit the Fields of Science campaign featuring 11 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists from coast to coast. Discover why they chose to pursue a career in agriculture and learn more about their research.
More information
Scientists and researchers
Publications
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K.D. Singh, S.D. Noble, P. Ravichandran, K. Halcro, R. Soolanayakanahally, J. Sangha, E. Brauer, K.T. Nilsen, O. Molina, H.S. Randhawa, R. Ortega Polo, C. Workman, S. Pahari, “Unmanned Ground Vehicle for High-throughput Phenotyping to Quantify Field Crops Characteristics”, NAPPN Annual Conference, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, February, 2024 (Hybrid); https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170008912.21420303/v1
2024 - View publication details
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to follow
2023 - View publication details
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Yang, W.Z., Lima, P., Ramirez, S., Schwandt, E., McAllister, T.A. 2023.Impact of a phytogenic feed additive on growth performance, feed intake and carcass traits of beef steers. Applied Animal Science. in press.
2023 - View publication details
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Prabahar Ravichandran, Keshav D. Singh, Charles M. Geddes, Breanne Tidemann, Eric Johnson, Steve Shirtliffe, Thomas K. Turkington, and Manoj Natarajan, "Utilizing Hyperspectral Imaging Technology to Characterize Herbicide Phytotoxicity in Oat and Mustard", 11th International Conference of Agro-Geoinformatics, Wuhan, China, July 2023
2023 - View publication details
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Prabahar Ravichandran, Keshav D. Singh, Charles M. Geddes, Manoj Natarajan, Austin Jaster, and Hongquan Wang, "Proximal Hyperspectral Imaging to Classify Herbicide-Resistant and -Susceptible Kochia (Bassia Scoparia)", 11th International Conference of Agro-Geoinformatics, Wuhan, China, July 2023
2023 - View publication details
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Hongquan Wang, Keshav Singh, and Prabahar Ravichandran, "Compact-Polarimetric SAR Decompositions for Soil Moisture Retrievals using RADARSAT Constellation Mission Data", 11th International Conference of Agro-Geoinformatics, Wuhan, China, July 2023
2023 - View publication details
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C. Wijekoon, S. D. Singer, R.J. Weselake, S. Acharya (2019 July 7-10) Metabolomics-Assisted Applications in Nutritional Genomics and Crop Improvement. Plant Canada conference. Guelph. Student poster presentation judge. Oral presentation by C. Wijekoon.
2023 - View publication details
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Floate, KD. 2023. Cow patty critters: An introduction to the ecology, biology and identification of insects in cattle dung on Canadian pastures. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. 224 pp.
2023 - View publication details
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Yoosefzadeh-Najafabadi, M., Singh, K.D., Pourreza, A., Sandhu, K.S., Adak, A., Murray, S.C., Eskandari, M., and Rajcan, I., “Remote and Proximal Sensing: How Far Has It Come to Help Plant Breeders?”, Advances in Agronomy, V 181, 2023
2023 - View publication details
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Published by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation
2023 - View publication details
Mar 2023
ISBN 978-1-4601-5240-9
© 2023 Government of Alberta.
This publication is issued under the Open Government Licence – Alberta (http://open.alberta.ca/licence).
This publication is available online at https://open.alberta.ca/publications/9781460152409
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