AG e-news September 26, 2016
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba.
UPCOMING EVENTS
A Department of Soil Science Seminar is scheduled for Monday, September 26, at 12:30 pm in Room 346 Ellis Building. Dr. Martti Esala, Professor of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition and the Natural Resources Institute, Finland, will present “Research on Nutrient Losses and Climate Change in a Northern Cold Climate.” The main focus of the seminar will be his research team’s work on climate change adaptation and reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, plus their agro-environmental program to minimize nutrient leaching and runoff losses. In addition, Martti will also discuss some of his work on soil fertility, crop nutrition and food security in Africa.
There will be a Final Ph.D. Oral Examination for Kabo Masisi, Food Science, on Tuesday, September 27 at 9:00 am in 339A University Centre entitled “Antioxidant Potential of Specific Cereal Grain Fractions: In Vitro and in Vivo Studies”. Faculty, students, staff and general public are welcome to attend.
A Human Nutritional Sciences Graduate Seminar entitled “Intestinal Peptide Transport in the Neonatal Piglet” will be presented by postdoc speaker Matthew Nosworthy on Tuesday, September 27 at 3:00 pm in 206 Human Ecology Building.
Tuesday, September 27 will be 4-H Info Night from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm in Room 130 Agriculture Building. Snacks provided! Come learn about the 4-H Leaders Club.
The Faculty of Agriculture Students Organization (FASO) is hosting a Meet the Faculty BBQ on Wednesday, September 28, at 12 noon. Location is in the Plant Science courtyard outside of the Atrium in the Agriculture Building. We hope to have a great turn out by faculty, instructors and students. All are welcome!
The next seminar in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences 2016-2017 Seminar Series will be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 3:30 pm in the Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building. Fuji Jian, Biosystems Engineering, will present “Mathematical Modelling of Stored Grain Ecosystems”. Refreshments will be served at 3:00 pm in the Atrium. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The 35th annual Aggie Bedpush will run Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1, once again in a variety of communities across Manitoba. A large team of students will push the familiar burgundy bed on wheels through Oakville, Elm Creek, Treherne, Boissevain, Minnedosa, Neepawa, Gladstone and Portage – the hometowns of many of the students. The charity supported this year is Manitoban Farmers with Disabilities. Donations will be accepted along the route of the Bedpush in each of the individual towns. Donations can also be made online at www.mfwd.ca by clicking the Donate Now Button and selecting MFWD Aggie Bedpush Fundraiser. Cheques can be made payable to MFWD –Aggie Bedpush and mailed to Box 367, Elm Creek, MB R0G 0N0. Tax receipts will be issued to donations over $10. Please make your donation before closing date of November 15th!
The Canadian Grain Commission invites you to join the CGC Microbiology Program for a “meet and eat” tour of their new labs at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Friday, September 30 at the RCFFN, 196 Innovation Drive. Learn about their journey, studies and new colleagues. Light refreshments will be served. Pay and park available.
There will be a Biosystems Engineering Special Seminar on Friday, September 30 at 3:00 pm in Room 130 Agriculture Building. Dr. Vijaya Raghavan, James McGill Professor and Graduate Program Director, Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, will present “Opportunities in Food Engineering: A Global Perspective”. In this presentation Dr. Raghavan will provide an overview of current food security issues, and concerns over the current practices leading to one third of the total food production being dumped as food waste. The presentation will also place emphasis on novel research in food processing, and on the role of food engineers in research and industry. All are welcome to attend.
A Certified Food Handler Program will be held on Saturday, October 1, 9 am to 3 pm at 99 Scurfield Blvd. Cost is $90 per person for course with exam or $50 for challenge exam only. Space is limited – register at http://thefoodlady.ca/our-services/food-handling-workshop-and-exam/
Keystone Agricultural Producers invite you to join their conference call on Tuesday, October 4 at 8:00 am on the topic “Carbon Pricing: Making it work for Manitoba farmers”. To address climate change, the Canadian government is going to put a price on carbon emissions. A badly designed carbon price could increase farmers’ costs without providing paths to solutions. A well-designed carbon price, on the other hand, could help farmers be part of the solution and save money while doing it. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4548719563994329345?source=email2. Your input will help Keystone Ag Producers tell the government what Manitoba farmers need. Sean Goertzen, KAP’s climate project coordinator, also invites you to call him anytime with questions about carbon pricing: 204-990-7326 or email.
A Department of Animal Science Seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 4 in Room 219 Animal Science Building at 10:00 am. Karin Wittenberg, Dean, will be presenting “The Future of Animal Ag as it Relates to the Feed Industry “. All are welcome to attend.
A Human Nutritional Sciences Graduate Seminar entitled “”In vitro protein digestibility” will be presented by graduate student Adam Franczyk on Tuesday, October 4 at 3:00 pm in 206 Human Ecology Building.
Manitoba Rural Women’s Day is scheduled for October 15 (Rivers, MB) and October 29 (Duguald, MB). Learn more at http://www.mbwi.ca/2016/08/18/join-us-for-manitoba-rural-womens-day/.
A Department of Animal Science Poster Presentation will be held on Tuesday, October 11 in Room 219 Animal Science Building at 10:00 am. Jule Dube-Smith, M.Sc. student, will be presenting “Insights from compost microbiome to form pathogen-suppressive soils”. Maral Rahmani, M.Sc. student, will present “The effect of processing conditions on the nutritive value of Canola meal”. All are welcome to attend.
In this, the Year of the PULSE, Winnipeg will be host to the 10th Canadian Pulse Research Workshop. This workshop includes sessions on Genetics and Plant Breeding, Agronomy and Pathology, Environment and Nutrition and Food. The workshop will be held at the Delta Hotel in Winnipeg October 25-28. There will be an additional workshop pulse protein quality on the afternoon of October 28. To get more information and register go to www.pulseresearch.ca.
STAFF AND STUDENT NEWS
The Faculty’s enrolment continues its upward trend. Read more at http://news.umanitoba.ca/enrolment-numbers-climb-in-the-faculty-of-agricultural-and-food-sciences/.
At a news conference held Friday, it was announced Canada and Manitoba governments will invest more than $366,000 through Growing Forward 2 in organic grain research at the University of Manitoba. The funding, provided through the Grain Innovation Hub, will be used to replace field equipment and will also help support two years of organic research at the university, totalling $50,000. See the official news release at http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=&item=39315.
Two students in the Faculty have been awarded a Manitoba Graduate Scholarship – Mauli Gamhewage, Soil Science, and Amy Henderson, Human Nutritional Sciences. The Manitoba Graduate Scholarship is awarded to students who are enrolled in a Master’s program in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba, and have ranked amongst the highest in the most recent University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship competition. It is valued at $15,000 per year.
Two Faculty researchers are among the recipients of the latest $163-million funding announcement from the Government of Canada. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) announced support for social science and humanities related research projects that build knowledge and foster collaboration in a wide range of disciplines. The funding is being awarded through the Partnership Grants, Partnership Development Grants, Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants programs. Julieta Frank, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, received a $98,622 SSHRC Insight Grant to investigate the cost of liquidity in electronically traded agricultural commodities. Chad Lawley, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, received a $174,783 SSHRC Partnership Development Grant to examine returns on land conservation investment in Canada.
A number of academics participated in the MIA barbeque held at Kelburn Farm on September 15. The guest speaker, Minister Ralph Eichler, presented some of his views with respect to Manitoba’s agri-food sector. Academics participated in a lively question and answer period regarding our important role in advancing the sector sustainably through training and innovation.
Karin Wittenberg, Dean, attended the Agricultural Bioscience International Conference in Fargo, ND, on September 19-21. The conference theme “Better Food. Better World.” attracted all three Deans of Agriculture from the Prairie region. A range of topics were covered, with respect to policy, private – public research collaboration in agriculture, and science communication in social media. The next conference will be hosted in Winnipeg in September 2017.
Joyce Slater, Human Nutritional Sciences, attended the 17th International Congress of Dietetics in Granada Spain September 6-9. She presented two posters: 1) Slater, J, Falkenberg, T. “Critical Food Literacy Competencies for Youth”; and 2) Slater, J, Green C, Epp-Koop, S. “Minding the Gap: Food Deserts in Winnipeg, Canada”.
Carla D’Andreamatteo, Human Nutritional Sciences sessional instructor, attended the 17th International Congress of Dietetics in Granada, Spain. She presented a poster: D’Andreamatteo, C. and Slater, J. “Measuring food security of homeless adults.” Poster #P-255 at http://www.icdgranada2016.com/posters.asp
Open Farm Day at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre this past Sunday drew over 500 visitors. Visitors could tour the Centre and the farm, participate in hands-on activities, and view displays by the Glenlea Long Term Crop Rotation and the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers. A big thank you to the staff and volunteers that assisted in making it a great success!
The Discovery Centre was also a host venue during the Amazing Ag Adventure, a three-day hands-on event offered by Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba for over 1000 Grade 4 and 5 students. Students moved through 16 interactive stations at the Discovery Centre and at neighbouring Kelburn Farm exploring modern agriculture topics.
LIBRARY NEWS
The Libraries’ Researcher Workshop Series will be starting up again this week, running from September 2016 – June 2017. A full list of sessions and registration links can be found here: http://bit.ly/ResearcherWorkshopSeries These workshops will run at the Fort Garry Campus and Bannatyne. You can register for either of those venues.
IN THE NEWS
Derek Brewin, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, was interviewed by a number of media on the impact of the Bayer/Monsanto merger on the canola seed market. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/monsanto-canola-1.3762155 and http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/canola-farmers-worried-about-bayer-monsanto-merger/
Martin Entz, Plant Science, was featured in the Manitoba Co-operator article “Twenty-five years of organics” -http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/twenty-five-years-of-organics/
Don Flaten, Soil Science, was quoted in the article “Getting fall fertility just right requires attention to detail” – read it on page 17 at http://static.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/MBC160922.pdf#_ga=1.149418038.1630552202.1460561045.
PUBLICATIONS
Liebig, M.A., A.J. Franzluebbers, C. Alvarez, T.D. Chiesa, N. Lewczuk, G. Piñeiro, G. Posse, L. Yahdjian, P. Grace, O. Machado Rodrigues Cabral, L. Martin-Neto, R. de Aragão Ribeiro Rodrigues, B. Amiro, D. Angers, X. Hao, M. Oelbermann, M. Tenuta, L.J. Munkholm, K. Regina, P. Cellier, F. Ehrhardt, G. Richard, R. Dechow, F. Agus, N. Widiarta, J. Spink, A. Berti, C. Grignani, M. Mazzoncini, R. Orsini, P.P. Roggero, G. Seddaiu, F. Tei, D. Ventrella, G. Vitali, A. Kishimoto-Mo, Y. Shirato, S. Sudo, J. Shin, L. Schipper, R. Savé, J. Leifeld, L. Spadavecchia, J. Yeluripati, S. Del Grosso, C. Rice and J. Sawchik. 2016. MAGGnet: An international network to foster mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gases, Carbon Management, DOI: 10.1080/17583004.2016.1180586
Singh, B., Farenhorst, A., McQueen, R. and Malley, D.F. 2016. Near-Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Generating Sorption Input Parameters for Pesticide Fate Modeling. Soil Science Society of America Journal 80: 604-612.
Nasibeh Y. Sinaki and Martin G. Scanlon, (2016) ” Flow Behavior of Native Corn and Potato Starch Granules in Aqueous Suspensions”. Journal of Food Biophysics, doi: 10.1007/s11483-016-9448-1.
GENERAL NEWS
We are still looking for a few curlers to join us in Aggie Row Curling, a friendly and long-running league with folks from the Faculty and from Agriculture Canada. We play Friday afternoons at 4:30 at the Pembina Curling Club – close by and easy to get to. The season starts in October 7 and runs til March. No experience is necessary and all are welcome. Full time or half time curlers welcome. For more information contact Paula Parks at paula.parks@umanitoba.ca.
Awards season is upon us. The Faculty Awards Database will be updated continuously with new awards on offer for the 2016-2017 academic year. All qualified students are encouraged to apply, and all Professors/Instructors are encouraged to remind their students to apply! There are several deadlines approaching. As well, the Bursary Application deadline is October 1. All bursary applicants must complete a general U of M bursary application via Aurora. Some bursaries require an additional supplemental application. Check out the Awards Database and external awards online at www.umanitoba.ca/afs/awards.
The Faculty invites applications and nominations for the position of Head, Department of Animal Science. Please see the position posting at: http://umanitoba.ca/cgi-bin/human_resources/jobs/view.pl?posting_id=91289. Closing date for applications is October 13.
Join us for a study on non-caloric artificial sweeteners. We are conducting a clinical research study to investigate the changes that occur in your gut, and the changes that occur to your blood sugar regulation with regular consumption of non-caloric artificial sweeteners. Inclusion criteria – Age 18-45 years, Males or Females, BMI between 20-25(i.e. normal weight). Exclusion criteria – Antibiotic or probiotic use within the last 6 months; Diabetic mellitus type 1 and 2, inflammatory bowl disease (IBD), irritable bowl syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, phenylketonuria; Pregnant or lactating women. A gift card will be provided as honorarium. For more information, or if you are interested in taking part in this study, please contact Dr. James Friel, Ph.D. (204)-474-8682 James.Friel@umanitoba.ca OR Dr. Samar Ahmad, MD, MSc. (204)-999-9446 ahmads34@myumanitoba.ca.