Brenda Ralston
From Stress to Success: Technology Tools for Healthier Livestock
About the Session:
Stress caused by routine management practices can impact herd health and performance. Brenda will discuss current research on strategies and tools to minimize animal illness and performance impacts. This session will explore new pharmaceutical and nutritional products and strategies that producers can evaluate for their farm.
Speaker Bio
Brenda Ralston (MSc, PhD, PAg) is an RDAR Research Scientist in Livestock Health with Lakeland College who believes applied research is critically needed today more than ever. She believes that if research does not provide a product or practice producers can implement to enhance efficiency, sustainability, or profitability, then it is not fully supporting the agriculture industry.
Brenda’s practical, relevant work has been conducted in collaboration with industry to help bring livestock pharmaceuticals and technologies to market, including oral meloxicam, lidocaine bands, boluses for metabolic disorders in ruminants, and alternatives to antibiotics for the treatment of non-bacterial scours.
Brenda grew up on her family’s century farm northeast of Calgary, where she continues to help manage their commercial cow/calf, forage, and grain operation with her husband Phil and son Mark. She earned a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Alberta, an M.Sc. in Veterinary Parasitology from the University of Calgary, and a Ph.D. in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. She is a 2026 AFSC Women in Ag Award winner and recipient of the 2022 Alberta Farm Animal Care Award of Distinction for leadership, innovation, and communication in advancing livestock welfare.
