AG e-news April 15, 2016
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Functional Foods and Natural Health Products (FFNHP) Graduate Research Symposium will be taking place on Wednesday, April 20, at the at the St-Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre. This is a pre-conference event to the Therapeutic Applications of Functional Foods and Bioactives conference organized by the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine. The FFNHP Graduate Research Symposium is a one-day event consisting of poster presentations and competition, as well as presentations from invited guest speakers. For more information, please visit http://taffbwpg.com or contact FFNHP@umanitoba.ca.
A Department of Entomology Seminar will be held on Tuesday, April 26 in Room 220 Animal Science/Entomology Building at 10:10 am. Zach Polk, M.Sc. candidate, Entomology, will present “The seasonality, supercooling point, and overwintering survival of Ixodes scapularis in Manitoba”. Refreshments served at 10:00 am.
The eighth and final seminar in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Seminar Series will be held on Wednesday, April 27 at 3:30 pm in the Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building. Emma McGeough, Animal Science, will present “Forages: Building resilient, sustainable beef production systems”. Refreshments will be served at 3:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
A Soil Science M.Sc. Thesis Defense will be held Wednesday, May 11 at 10:00 am in Room 346 Ellis Building. Ahmed Lasisi will present “Investigation of the mechanisms by which perennial grasses prevent nitrate leaching from solid and liquid pig manures”.
The Department of Food Science will be offering the short course “Pasteurization of Milk and Liquid Foods I” on June 1 and 2. Registration deadline is May 16. Cost is $575 per person (includes all instructional and practical sessions, course manual, nutrition breaks, parking, certificate upon completion). Payment is accepted via cheque, money order or money transfer made out to the University of Manitoba and must be made prior to the commencement of the course. If you need any further information or to register please contact Gwendolyn.Band@umanitoba.ca.
The Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre is excited to offer the “Preserving Summer’s Bounty Workshop Series” led by food writer and professional home economist Getty Stewart all about food preservation, from herbs to berries and fruit and canning. Workshops run May 2 – June 20 and all begin at 7:00 pm. Cost is $15/adult. Don’t have a sitter? Entertainment available for children under 12 available – $2.50/child. Learn more at www.ffdc.ca or email ffdc@umanitoba.ca to register.
Book now for the 2016 Crop Diagnostic School Staff Student Day, scheduled for Tuesday, July 5 at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm, Carman Manitoba. The day will run 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Registration is limited and costs $50. Lunch and refreshments provided. School will run, rain or shine, Please dress accordingly. For additional information, contact: Program – Anatasia Kubinec at 1-204-750-2717; Registration – Monika Menold at 1-204-745-5663.
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, 2016. 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
Monica Cyr, M.Sc. student in Human Nutritional Sciences, was selected as a finalist in CBC Manitoba’s Future 40, a celebration of the province’s new generation of leaders, builders and change-makers under the age of 40. Read more at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/monica-cyr-1.3504443
The grand finale of the Manitoba Undergrad New Venture Championships, a cross-campus business plan competition for undergraduate students from any post-secondary institution in Manitoba which is hosted every year by the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, was held last Saturday April 9. Team NixedFoods which included Human Nutritional Sciences undergraduate students Oluwaseyi Odhigbo and Oribim Kingson along with Zara Usman, Economics, won the prize of $1,000 for 3rd place for their food waste reduction business plan. The team’s advisor for the competition was Ifeanyi Nwachukwu, a Ph.D. student in Rotimi Aluko’s lab.
Annemieke Farenhorst, Soil Science, presented a webinar on March 29 on “Safe drinking water rights: A closer look at First Nations communities in Manitoba”. The webinar was hosted by the Canadian Water Resources Association and attracted participants across Canada and internationally.
Karin Wittenberg, Dean, and Brian Amiro, Soil Science, presented at the 2016 MIA Members’ Lunch and Annual General Meeting on April 14 in Portage la Prairie. On the theme “Research–Monitor–Manage–Measure: Learn Adapt V2”, Karin and Brian provided a look ahead to 2050 to understand what adaptations Agrologists and others will need to help put safe food on the table, boost the economy, and protect the environment.
The Department of Food Science welcomes Dr. Sarina Ma who joined Trust Beta’s research group on February 24 for six months. Dr. Ma is a visiting scholar from the Institute of Agri-Products Processing Science and Technology of Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Husbandry Science (IMAAAHS). She will conduct research on soybean antinutritional factors and functional food components under the Malawi Farmer-to-Farmer Agroecology project.
Kabo Masisi, Ph.D. candidate in Food Science was selected as one of the eight finalists for an Oral Presentation in the Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) Nutrition Graduate Student and Trainee Competition, to be held during the 2016 CNS Annual Conference in Gatineau, Quebec in May. His abstract entitled “Cardiovascular benefits of dietary corn fractions in low density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice” was among the 72 abstracts submitted for the competition. Kabo is co-supervised by Trust Beta and Mohammed Moghadasian, Human Nutritional Sciences.
Two students in Human Nutritional Sciences – Jessay Devassy, Ph.D. student and Shan Leng, M.Sc. student – were selected for the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition, an event that recognizes the highest scoring research presented by students and young investigators at ASN’s Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2016 in San Diego, California April 2-6. Both students received awards for their presentations: Jessay Devassy won a cash prize in his category, as well as a travel award, while Shan Leng was awarded a travel award for her abstract.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
C. Ding, A.R. Rodas-González, Ó. López-Campos, J. Galbraith, M. Juárez, I.L. Larsen, Y. Jin, J.L. Aalhus. Effects of electrical stimulation on meat quality of bison striploin steaks and ground patties. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 2016, 96(1): 79-89, 10.1139/cjas-2015-0001
*Colatruglio, Sl, Slater, J. 2016. Challenges to acquiring and using food literacy: Perceptions of young Canadian adults. Canadian Food Studies Journal. 3(1):96-118. *(Trainee)
Jeke, N.N., Zvomuya, F. and Ross, L. 2015. Moisture Effects on Nitrogen Availability in Municipal Biosolids from End-of-Life Municipal Lagoons J. Environ. Qual. 44:1883-1891.
IN THE NEWS
Joanne Thiessen Martins, Plant Science, was quoted in the Manitoba Co-operator article (April 14) “Cover crops breaking out of livestock niche” – read it on page 53 at http://www.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MBC160414.pdf.
Research by Ryan Cardwell and Chad Lawley, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, and Di Xiang, Economics, was cited in a National Post column (April 13) by Joe Oliver (former Federal Minster of Finance) on supply management – http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/joe-oliver-supply-management-is-milking-the-poor-and-no-party-will-stop-it
Doug Cattani, Plant Science, was quoted in the article “Perennial wheat more than a pipedream” in Grainews (April 11) – http://www.grainews.ca/2016/04/11/how-close-are-we-to-perennial-wheat-crops-for-farmers/
Derek Brewin, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, was interviewed on CTV Farmgate Market Prospects (April 9) on “Canola Situation and Outlook” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihWkBUx2c4g&feature=youtu.be
A study done by Agriculture Canada and the University of Manitoba on the Canadian beef industry was highlighted in the article “Tops in beef sustainability” in the Western Producer (April 7) – http://www.producer.com/2016/04/tops-in-beef-sustainability/
Annemieke Farenhorst, Soil Science, was interviewed in the article “Soil Science researcher and champion of women in science and engineering: Research profile: Annemieke Farenhorst” in the student newspaper The Manitoban (April 6).
David Lobb, Soil Science, was quoted in the article “New research raised red flag over buffer strips” in the Manitoba Co-operator (April 5) – http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/new-research-raises-red-flag-over-buffer-strips/
David was also quoted in the article “Don’t misdiagnose soil compaction” in Grainews (April 5) – read it on page 15 at http://www.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GNN160405.pdf
Martin Scanlon, Food Science and Associate Dean (Research), was interviewed by CBC Radio (March 31) on “Better instant noodles the aim of University of Manitoba research project ” – http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/better-instant-noodle-research-1.3512831
Rob Gulden, Plant Science, was quoted in the article “Corn, soybeans most prone to herbicide resistant weeds” in the Western Producer (March 31) – http://www.producer.com/2016/03/corn-soybeans-most-prone-to-herbicide-resistant-weeds/
Rob’s research was also featured in the Grainews (March 30) article “Soybean research underway” along with work being done by Jordan Bannerman, Entomology – http://www.grainews.ca/2016/03/30/soybean-research-underway/
Don Flaten, Soil Science, and his colleagues were featured in the article “Do soybeans need phosphorus?” in Grainews (March 30) – http://www.grainews.ca/2016/03/30/do-soybeans-need-phosphorus/
The winding-down of the Prairie Improvement Network and the establishment of a graduate student scholarship fund at the University of Manitoba were noted in “Pulling the pin on the Prairie Improvement Network” in the Manitoba Co-operator (March 24) – http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/local/pulling-the-pin-on-the-prairie-improvement-network/
Alumnus Dr. John McKinnon (BSA/78) recently won the first annual Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation. He gave a nod to Dr. Bob Parker in his interview in the Western Producer (March 24) – http://www.producer.com/2016/03/researcher-gets-beef-sector-award/
Peter Jones, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, was featured on the Winnipeg chamber of commerce’s ‘Bold Ideas’ platform on CJOB (April 2) – jump to the 17:04 mark to listen to Dr. Jones’ segment https://soundcloud.com/winnipeg-chamber/bold-radio-april-2nd
Peter was also featured in the article “Research on a roll” by the Winnipeg Free Press (April 11) – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/research-on-a-roll-375215441.html
GENERAL NEWS
Support Staff Recognition! There are two different ways to show your appreciation of a support staff member. ONE – The Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Support Staff Awards are two annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions by Faculty support staff. Deadline is May 1 – details and nomination form is at http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/staff/supportstaffawards.html. TWO – The University of Manitoba Awards of Excellence for support staff provide for four awards in the areas of President’s Award; Leadership Award; Service Award; and Team Award. Visit http://umanitoba.ca/admin/human_resources/lds/recognition/awards_of_excellence.html where you will find nomination forms for the various awards, along with helpful tips on how to complete your nomination. The deadline for nominations is April 22.
Agriculture in the Classroom invites you to volunteer at their upcoming Amazing Agriculture Adventure in Brandon, June 7-8. The Brandon event is held at the Keystone Centre and they are expecting over 550 Grade 4 and 5 students to register for this event. They will need class hosts each day to tour the students and teachers through the interactive stations. In addition, they need volunteers to help manage the various stations. To volunteer, please fill out a form available at http://aitc.mb.ca/educational-programs-events/amazing-agriculture-adventure-brandon before May 16.
The Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, commencing September 1, 2016, or soon thereafter. http://umanitoba.ca/cgi-bin/human_resources/jobs/view.pl?posting_id=91177