AG e-news July 21, 2016
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba.
AG e-news is now on summer schedule and will publish once in mid-July and once in mid-August.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join us for three special seminars by candidates for the Assistant Professor position in Insect Systematics and Taxonomy in the Department of Entomology. As well as the Research presentation, each candidate will also give a short teaching demonstration which is open to the public. All Seminars and Teaching demonstrations will be held in Room 219 Animal Sc/Entomology Bldg. Dr. Amanda Roe – Seminar: 10:30 am Thursday, July 21; Teaching Demo: 2:00 pm Friday, July 22. Dr. Guanyang Zhang – Seminar: 10:30 am Monday, July 25; Teaching Demo: 2:00 pm Tuesday, July 26. Dr. Jason Gibbs – Seminar: 10:30 am Wednesday, July 27; Teaching Demo: 2:00 pm Thursday, July 28.
This Saturday, July 23 is Bannock Day at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre! Learn about bannock and its history in Manitoba; then make your own in our wood-fired oven. Don’t forget to RSVP to reserve your spot. Call 204-883-2524 or email ffdc [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.
The Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiative is hosting the McDonald’s Production Day Tour on Tuesday, July 26 from 9:30 am to 4 pm. The day will include new and exciting grazing techniques; MBFI’s research projects; Craig Line on remote sensing in agriculture; methods of increasing forage and soil health. Support by the McDonalds Sustainability Initiative. The event will be held (rain or shine) at the corner of #10 Hwy and #353 Hwy north of Brandon. Lunch provided. Register in advance at mbfiinfo [at] gmail [dot] com. $10 per person.
Join us for Dairy Day at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre on Wednesday, July 27! Explore the dairy barn, and learn about how we get milk to make cheese and yogurt. Finish by helping to make some fresh ice cream. Don’t forget to RSVP to reserve your spot. Call 204-883-2524 or email ffdc [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.
The Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation will host a Field Day on Wednesday, July 27. See diverse crops and practices for the Parkland Region; meet with other producers, industry reps, specialists, and researchers; and win door prizes! Crops featured include spring and winter cereals, oilseeds, forages and special crops. Tour takes place 3 miles south of Roblin at Road 148N. There will be a free BBQ lunch at 12 noon and tour begins at 1 pm. For more information, contact James Frey at (204) 247-0346 or pcdf [at] mymts [dot] net.
Market Gardeners, Vegetable and Fruit Growers – Register today for Horticulture School 2016 at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Farm, 370 River Road, Portage la Prairie (north of junction Highway #1 bypass and Highway #240) Thursday, July 28. Registration 8:15 a.m. Morning and afternoon sessions on vegetable and fruit agronomy, pathology, entomology, soils and forensic agronomy. Registration fee: $30, cash or cheque only (includes lunch and refreshments). Pre-registration is required. To register or for more information, contact: Manitoba Agriculture at 204-745-5663 or monika [dot] menold [at] gov [dot] mb [dot] ca or go to www.manitoba.ca/agriculture. This is a rain or shine event. Please dress accordingly.
There will be a Twilight Corn Agronomy Tour put on by the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Corn Growers Association on Thursday, July 28 at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm in Carman, MB. Tour runs 6:45 pm – 9:00 pm. Free event, no registration needed! Refreshments provided. Event topics include: Nitrogen, phosphorus and zinc fertilization strategies for corn, corn residue management, tillage for corn, CHU evaluation… and more. For more information feel free to contact Morgan Cott at the Manitoba Corn Growers Association at (204) 745-6661.
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
Michael Eskin, Human Nutritional Sciences, has been appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada “for his pioneering research, which has contributed to the success of Canada’s canola oil industry.” Without Michael’s contributions, canola would not have reached the heights that it has with respect to its importance to the Canadian and global economy. He has published more than 115 research papers and a dozen books on edible oils and functional foods. Check out CJOB’s coverage of Michael’s accomplishment – http://www.cjob.com/2016/06/30/147967/.
Alejandro Costamagna, Entomology, was awarded an Agriculture and Agrifood Canada 2016 Gold Harvest Award recognizing the exceptional and significant contributions that he made to Agriculture and Agri Food Canada in the category of Innnovation, Collaboration and Service Excellence through the development and publication of “Field crop and forage pests and their natural enemies in Canada”.
Rotimi Aluko, Human Nutritional Sciences, has been elected a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) in recognition of his contributions and service to the food science and technology community. This honour is conferred upon an active member of the CIFST for outstanding and distinguished accomplishment as measured by extraordinary performance in the field of food science and technology. A maximum of one Fellow may be elected per year.
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2016 Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Support Staff Awards. The first award was presented to Dennis Labossiere, Technician with Human Nutritional Sciences and the second to Crystal Jorgenson, Communications Specialist for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. All nominees, including Brad Sparling, Soil Science; Surinder Kamboz, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics; Taylor Friesen, Student Services; and team members Kathy Graham, Mei Ding and Margaret Ann Baker, Animal Science and nominators were acknowledged at an Animal Science BBQ – many thanks to who organized the event. Congratulations to each of you – your support helps make the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences an outstanding workplace!
The Department of Animal Science welcomed two people to positions recently. Newcomer Charlene Hawryluk began as an Office Assistant 5 and will provide administrative support to Tracy Gilson and staff at the Glenlea Research Station and the Farm & Food Discovery Centre as well as providing support to the Department of Animal Science. Charlene has been working on campus since 2013 and brings with her a variety of skills and experience. Gemmar Maramot began a new position as Technician 2 in the T.K. Cheung Center for Animal Science Research. Gemmar is no stranger to the Department as he has worked as an Ag Attendant in the Glenlea Swine Unit for the past six years. In his new role Gemmar will continue to provide the skills and experience necessary to support the research activities being conducted in the T.K. Cheung Center.
If you opened your Safeway/Sobey’s flyer this week, you may have seen Kristine Tapley, recently graduated M.Sc. student in Animal Science! Kristine’s operation was also featured on the Safeway and Sobey’s websites, where they have video profiles of Canadian agricultural producers. In a beautifully shot video, Kristine talks about grassland restoration and protection on her farm – https://player.vimeo.com/video/169806859?autoplay=1.
IN THE NEWS
Chad Lawley and Ryan Cardwell, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, were highlighted for winning the John Vanderkamp Prize in the Manitoba Co-operator article “Manitoba agriculture economists earn national award” – http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/livestock/manitoba-agriculture-economists-earn-national-award-2/
Mario Tenuta, Soil Science, was quoted in the Western Producer article “You grew canola. Now what?” – http://www.producer.com/2016/07/you-grew-canola-now-what/.
Mario was also quoted in the Manitoba Co-operator article “Take a 4R nutrient management farm demonstration tour” – http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/take-a-4r-nutrient-management-farm-demonstration-tour/
Terry Galloway, Entomology senior scholar, was quoted by CBC about the fish fly (or more properly, burrowing mayfly) invasion in Gimli – http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/gimli-fish-flies-burrowing-mayflies-1.3676432
Professors Ayush Kumar (Microbiology), Ehsan Khafipour (Animal Science) and Annemieke Farenhorst (Soil Science) formed a team to examine the presence of antibiotic resistant genes in drinking water samples from a First Nation Community in Canada. Their recently accepted article in Applied and Environmental Microbiology received a wide range of media attention. The abstract of the study can be found here: http://aem.asm.org/content/early/2016/05/23/AEM.00798-16.abstract. Ayush and Annemieke also published a Winnipeg Free Press Op-Ed about the study: https://shar.es/1JZhBx.
PUBLICATIONS
Podolsky, Kristen, Robert E. Blackshaw, and Martin H. Entz. “A Comparison of Reduced Tillage Implements for Organic Wheat Production in Western Canada.” Agronomy Journal (2016) doi:10.2134/agronj2016.01.0032.
Slater, J, Mudryj, A. 2016. Self-perceived eating habits and food skills of Canadians. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 48(7):486-495. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2016.04.397
Otfinowski, R., N. Kenkel, and M. Tenuta. 2016. Reduced vigour of a clonal invader: Lack of evidence for soilborne pathogen. Applied Soil Ecology 98: 75-82.
GENERAL NEWS
Plant sterol study (GenePredict-PS) – Do you have high cholesterol? The University of Manitoba is conducting a study to investigate the effect of natural plant compounds on blood cholesterol concentrations The study is open to men and women who meet the following criteria: aged 18 – 70 years; have elevated cholesterol; not taking medication to lower cholesterol; non-smokers. Genetic testing will be done in this study. Participants will be compensated for their contribution to this study. For more information contact James House, PhD, Principal Investigator at (204) 474-7091 or GenePredict-PS [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.
The Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development invites nominations and applications for the 2016 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Awards. The awards recognize and honour people, projects and ideas that successfully turn the principles and guidelines of sustainable development into lasting achievements. Any individual, business, institution, organization, community group or youth in Manitoba can apply or be nominated for an award. To make a nomination or apply for an award, visit www.manitoba.ca/conservation/susresmb/mrtsd/mesa/index.html. To find out more about the awards or the nomination and application process, call 204-945-4391 in Winnipeg; toll free 1-800-282-8069 or email mrtsd [at] gov [dot] mb [dot] ca. The deadline for submitting an application or nomination is noon on Friday, September 23, 2016.