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AG e-news March 25, 2019

News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

March 25, 2019 — 

News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, March 26 – A Department of Animal Science Seminar will be held on in Room 219 Animal Science Building at 11:30 am. Paul Tamayao, M.Sc. student, will be giving a extension presentation on “Effects of different engineered biocarbon on a beef cattle total mixed ration on methane production, carbon dioxide production, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis using a semi continuous fermentation system (RUSITEC)”.  All are welcome to attend.

Wednesday, March 27 – The Soil Science Seminar Series will feature Dr. Janna Wilson, Department of Environment and Geography, at 12:30 pm in Room 346 Ellis Building on the topic “Chopping Off Bee Heads: Unexpected Opportunities in Academia”.

Wednesday, March 27 – The Food Systems Research Group research knowledge sharing series continues with the seminar “Protecting Canada’s crops using next-generation molecular fungicides” by Dr. Mark Belmonte, Associate Professor and Associate Head of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science at 3:00 pm in 205 Armes Building. Learn more about the talk at http://news.umanitoba.ca/fsrg-talk-protecting-canadas-crops-using-next-generation-molecular-fungicides/.

Wednesday, March 27 – The next seminar in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Seminar Series will be held at 3:30 pm in the Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building. Dr. Rotimi Aluko, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, and Dr. Clement O. Adebooye, Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria (and visiting professor, FHNS), will present “Scaling up technologies on fertilizer microdosing, production and value addition of indigenous vegetables in West Africa: The IDRC-funded MicroVeg report”. Refreshments will be served at 3:00 pm in the Atrium. Everyone is welcome to attend.

March 28 to April 4Students from FOOD7130 will be presenting their seminars Thursday, March 28, Tuesday April 2 and Thursday April 4 at 1 pm in 245 Ellis Building.  There are nine students presenting for about 15-20 minutes each.  Everyone welcome! Visit the Faculty Events Calendar at https://eventscalendar.umanitoba.ca/site/fafs/?view=grid&search=y to see each day’s abstract listing.

Friday, March 29 – The Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine (CCARM) is hosting a “Rapid-Fire Research Symposium 2” from 12:30 pm to 5 pm in the Samuel Cohen Auditorium at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, 351 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg. Includes 7-Minute Trainee Presentations, career development session and netowrking and awards reception. Send an email to rrs [at] sbrc [dot] ca to register free of charge – include your name and department.

Monday, April 1 – The Red River Soil Health Summit will be held at the St. Jean-Baptiste Centennial Hall. This is a one-day workshop for producers and agronomists wanting to learn more about the relationship between soil health and crop production in the Red River Valley.  David Lobb, Soil Science, and Yvonne Lawley, Plant Science, are among the presenters.  Full agenda and registration details at www.antaraag.ca/soilsummit.

Monday, April 1 – The Food Systems Research Group has organized a panel discussion entitled “Canada’s New Food Guide Protein on the Plate” at 7 pm at McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue. The moderator is Dr. Martin Scanlon, with panelists Dr. Joyce Slater, Dr. James House, and Darren Fife, and they will be discussing what’s new with the Food Guide and tips for following the Guide, with special emphasis on the protein part of the plate.  No registration required – all are welcome!

Tuesday, April 2 – A Department of Entomology Seminar will be presented by Crystal Almdal, Department of Entomology on “Predator prey relationships in agroecosystems”. Refreshments at 10:00 am, seminar begins at 10:10 am sharp in 220 Animal Science/Entomology Building. All are welcome.

Tuesday, April 2 – A Department of Animal Science Seminar will be held on in Room 219 Animal Science Building at 11:30 am. Marion Mogire, M.Sc. student, will be giving a poster presentation on “Red Osier Dogwood extracts as alternatives to in-feed antibiotics to enhance growth performance and gut health in broiler chickens”.  All are welcome to attend.

Tuesday, April 2 – A Ph.D. Oral Defence by Sean Asselin, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Plant Science, will be presented at 1:00 pm in 339A University Centre on the topic “Landscape genomics and domestication status of Maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximilliani Schrad)”. Faculty, students, staff and general public are welcome to attend.

Thursday, April 4 –  An Advanced Plant Science Seminar will be held in the Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building at 3:30 pm.  Anjan Neupane, PhD student, Department of Plant Science, will present “”Identification of QTL Associated with Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Winter Wheat””.  All are welcome to attend. Coffee at 3:00 pm in the Atrium.

Friday, April 5 – The final oral presentations for Project in Agroecology (AGEC 4550) will take place starting at 2:30 pm in 344 Ellis Building. Seminars describe the Fourth-Year Thesis Projects of Agroecology students. Each talk is a maximum of 13 minutes followed by a 2-minute question period. Pizza and refreshments following the seminars. Everyone welcome! See complete list of projects at https://eventscalendar.umanitoba.ca/site/fafs/event/final-oral-presentations-for-agec4550-project-in-agroecology/

Tuesday, April 9 – A Department of Entomology Seminar will be presented by Dr. Mary Gardiner, Ohio State University on “Assessing the conservation value of urban vacant land for arthropods”. Refreshments at 10:00 am, seminar begins at 10:10 am sharp in 220 Animal Science/Entomology Building. All are welcome.

Tuesday, April 23 – The next RCFFN Coffee Talk will feature Karen Meekler, Access and Privacy Office, University of Manitoba who will be conducting an access and privacy refresher 9:00 am to 10:30 am at the Lecture Theatre, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 196 Innovation Drive.

Friday, May 10 – The Department of Statistics is offering the workshop “Introduction to R” 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm, Friday, May 10, 311 Machray Hall.  $30 course fee. Space is limited to 35 seats.  Registration deadline: May 6. To register for this workshop, please email consulting [at] stats [dot] umanitoba [dot] ca.

June 11-14 – The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) 2019 Conference will be hosted by the University of Manitoba, Red River College and Universite de Saint-Boniface at the RBC Convention Centre with the theme “Guiding the Journey: Learner-Teacher-Learner.” Complete details and registration at https://stlhe2019sapes.ca/.

 

STAFF AND STUDENT NEWS

We were sad to learn of the passing of Dr. Claude Bernier, retired U of M professor and plant pathologist, on March 13. Dr. Bernier improved wheat production processes in Canada and around the world, and helped save many food crops from disease. He also mentored hundreds of students over his 30-year career at the University of Manitoba. Read more at http://news.umanitoba.ca/remembering-alumnus-claude-bernier-distinguished-plant-scientist/

Filiz Koksel, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, was one of seven U of M projects featured at a Canada Foundation for Innovation funding announcement held on March 14. Filiz project titled “Tailoring quality during processing of protein rich plant-based food materials” will receive infrastructure support of $160,000. Read more at http://news.umanitoba.ca/seven-research-projects-funded-by-cfi/

At the University of Manitoba Food Fight on March 16, seven teams of students in the food product development course (FOOD 4510) pitched their unique creations to the three-judge panel, giving background on their product selection, development and marketing plans. Products ranged from ketogenic cookies to congee to freeze-dried fruit biscuits. The winning product was a nacho-flavored roasted chickpea snack, which the judges described as “market-ready” and in tune with the protein trend. A big nod goes to Claudia Narvaez,  Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, for encouraging her students to participate in this public competition.  The Food Fight takes place during Discover Agriculture in the City, a one-day event held at The Forks to connect the urban public with local agriculture and food production.

Two Biosystems Engineering M.Sc. students were finalists at this year’s 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) Competition and gave excellent presentations within the three-minute time limit. Lucy Wang (Advisor: Song Liu) presented “Diarrhea afflicts piglets: Zinc oxide protected in food-based materials help with relief” and Avery Simundsson (Advisor: Danny Mann) presented “The use of sound in autonomous agricultural vehicle control”. Avery ended up placing third overall, netting her a trophy and a cash prize of $750.

Rob Currie, Entomology, and three of his graduate students presented their research to the annual meeting of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association in Winnipeg on February 23.

Jordan Bannerman, Entomology, presented a talk entitled “Insect Outlook 2019” at the Dauphin Agricultural Society Farm outlook meeting in Dauphin on March 7.

Kateryn Rochon, Entomology, was invited to speak at the Canadian Pest Management Association meeting, March 7-9 at the Westin in Calgary on ticks.

 

IN THE NEWS

The University of Manitoba’s organic wheat-breeding program and coordinator Michelle Carkner were featured in the article “Organic wheat varieties waiting in the registration gate” in the Manitoba Co-operator (March 25) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/organic-wheat-varieties-waiting-in-the-registration-gate/

Derek Brewin, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, did interviews late last week with Radio-Canada and Wall Street Journal on the recent developments in the ban on Canadian canola by China.

The University of Manitoba Food Fight was highlighted in the article “A healthy alternative to Doritos? Yes, peas” in the Winnipeg Free Press (March 20) – see highlights here http://news.umanitoba.ca/wpg-free-press-a-healthy-alternative-to-doritos-yes-peas/

Yvonne Lawley, Plant Science, was featured on RealAgriculture.com (March 20)  in the interview “Corn School: Corn agronomy for western Canadian conditions” – https://www.realagriculture.com/2019/03/corn-school-corn-agronomy-for-western-canadian-conditions/.

Martin Nyachoti, Animal Science, was interviewed by Farmscape (March 20) in the article “SIP Nutrition Research Targets Lower Cost, Higher Productivity, Reduced Environmental Impact” – read or listen to the interview at https://www.farmscape.com/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=26965&q=SIP+Nutrition+Research+Targets+Lower+Cost%2c+Higher+Productivity%2c+Reduced+Environmental+Impact.

Don Flaten, Soil Science, was quoted in the article “Getting the most efficiency from your nitrogen” in Grainews (March 18) – https://www.grainews.ca/2019/03/18/get-the-most-efficiency-from-your-nitrogen/

A National Centre for Livestock and the Environment project led by Emma McGeough, Animal Science, and Doug Cattani, Plant Science, was featured in Manitoba Beef Producers’ publication Cattle Country (February) in the article “Dual purpose value of perennial forage grain for food and feed focus of a new study” – http://news.umanitoba.ca/dual-purpose-value-of-perennial-forage-grain-for-food-and-feed-focus-of-a-new-study/

Alumna Rachael Verwey [B.Sc.(Agric)/18] was featured on the cover of Country Guide (March 15) and in the article “Help wanted” – https://www.country-guide.ca/features/why-agriculture-needs-more-women-to-take-on-more-farm-roles/

 

PUBLICATIONS

A textbook entitled Applied Economics for Agribusiness authored by Charles Grant, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, and Janelle Mann, Economics, was reviewed in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics – Jill E Hobbs, Grant, C.W., and Mann, J.M. Applied Economics for Agribusiness, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, , aaz008, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaz008

 

GENERAL NEWS

Our fiscal year end of March 31, 2019 is nearly here. Visit our Year End at the University website (http://umanitoba.ca/admin/financial_services/comptrollers/yearend.htm) to review the Year End Guidelines & Schedule for 2018-19 which includes frequently asked questions, key deadline dates, checklists and your Financial Services contacts to help you through the process.

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