Reading Time: 3 minutes For greenhouse crop growers, moving away from chemical pest control to biological controls can be a big investment — but one that’s worth it, if done right. “You have to change your mindset from pesticides to biocontrol,” said Veronica Cervantes, technical adviser at Biobest USA. “The first year you start your biocontrol program is the […] Read more
Prevention is the best cure when managing greenhouse pests
Greenhouse crop growers need to start with clean cuttings, prevent infestations, and monitor pest levels to guarantee a successful biocontrol program
Riders’ effects on therapy horses up for study
A new study in southern Ontario plans to look at the effects of the relationship between a therapy horse and its rider from the horse’s point of view. Katrina Merkies, a professor in the University of Guelph’s animal biosciences department, has picked up a $10,000 research grant from the Ohio-based Horses and Humans Research Foundation […] Read more
Bridging the producer-consumer divide
There are pros, cons, and frustrations when trying to deal with consumers who want it all when it comes to food
Reading Time: 3 minutes Consumers are watching you like never before. But relax — you can only do so much. That was one key message from a recent panel discussion on how farmers can connect with consumers. The sudden fascination with how food is produced is a “profoundly good thing,” said Mike von Massow, an associate professor at the […] Read more
Guelph animal science department rebrands
The Ontario Agricultural College’s department of animal and poultry science has hatched a new name meant to better take in the scope of its work. The new name, the Department of Animal Biosciences, “helps describe the department’s evolution from a livestock husbandry department in the 1870s to the highly dynamic and integrated department it is […] Read more
Researchers using big data to find feed-efficient dairy cattle
The goal is to develop a prediction tool for breeding cows that will eat less with no loss in productivity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to give producers a bit of a boost by isolating feed-efficient traits in dairy cattle. “We have an estimate that breeding for increased feed efficiency and reduced methane emission can reduce feed costs by about $100 per cow per year,” said Paul Stothard, an assistant professor of […] Read more
Ont. group to weigh school models for Kemptville
The Ontario government has set up its working group to consider options for the Ontario Agricultural College’s Kemptville campus beyond this year. The University of Guelph, which operates OAC, announced in spring 2014 it would wind down operations at its Kemptville and Alfred satellite campuses and consolidate its ag education and research operations at its […] Read more
Francophone ag education in E. Ont. under new management
An established francophone college has been named to co-ordinate delivery of French-language agricultural education programs in eastern Ontario. The province on Thursday announced Ottawa-based Collège La Cité will take on that role — and take the lead in delivering several such programs this fall at Campus d’Alfred (UGCA), which, for now, is a francophone campus […] Read more
Ont. to seek community ownership for ex-Guelph ag campuses
With recommendations in hand, the Ontario government plans to clear a path for the use of two soon-to-be-former University of Guelph ag campuses as new community-backed ag schools. The province on Friday laid out its response to last month’s recommendations from its appointed facilitators, Lyle Vanclief and Marc Godbout, on the future of Guelph’s Kemptville […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
