The project’s lead researcher is so excited she’s putting off retirement.

“I want the first experiment in a system like this. This is so exciting,” Karen Schwean-Lardner said in a University of Saskatchewan news release.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation announced $6.2 million in funding to build a state-of-the-art poultry laying facility at the University. The foundation is a federal government-created non-profit set up in 1997 to fund research infrastructure in Canada.

WHY IT MATTERS: The proposed facility will allow researchers to improve poultry barn lighting, housing and food systems for better animal welfare and egg production.

The Saskatchewan Egg Producers contributed $3 million while the university’s agriculture and bioresource department added $1 million.

“This will move us so far forward in poultry research,” said Schwean-Lardner in the release. Schwean-Lardner is a professor in the university’s department of animal and poultry science.

The nearly 24,000-square-foot facility is set to include three types of hen housing: enriched, free run and free-range. Ten individual housing rooms will have controls for lighting, temperature and other environmental factors.

“Each one is like a little mini-barn,” Schwean-Larder told media.

“Big data is getting more attention these days. We have a lot of data that can be gathered over time, and this unit is going to allow us to manage that data and collect it over a long period of time,” assistant professor Deborah Adewole said. “There are going to be a lot of new things that we can do for poultry research.”

The facility will also include viewing rooms so public groups — for example, schoolchildren — can see the chickens and housing systems while reducing biosecurity risks.

“We can control the environment. Right now, we cannot do that in the same way,” said Adewole. “This facility is one of its kind in Canada. There are other universities that have built new facilities, but this one is encompassing all systems and has space for public viewing systems as well — which is a first in Canada.”

Schwean-Larder said her first experiment would look at the effects of light on the hens and will involve researchers from the U.S.

“To be able to do that kind of research with an international perspective, I can’t stand it. I’m losing my voice because I’m excited.”

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“For over 50 years, there has been almost no genetic improvement of saskatoons, no systematic streamlined breeding that has been successfully done because saskatoon berry cultivars … won’t successfully cross,” said Anže Švara in an online article from the university.

WHY IT MATTERS: New varieties of saskatoon berries are historically difficult to develop.

Švara is an associate professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s plant science department. He is helping to lead a new project that will categorize saskatoon berry varieties to better understand their traits. The hope is this will identify characteristics that can potentially be selected for future new varieties.

The university houses around 2,000 saskatoon berry varieties collected over the decades.

“We have two key questions: can certain saskatoon berry plants breed with other saskatoon berry plants? And is there diversity that can be utilized to develop new varieties with improved traits?” said Švara in the article.

The university said it hopes the project will contribute to future innovative breeding projects and help berry growers.

Saskatoon berries present a particular challenge in breeding because some historically successful cultivars have four sets of chromosomes instead of two. Plants produce seedlings nearly identical to the parent plants, but it’s difficult to breed those plants with others to develop specific traits.

The project is funded through the federally-supported Agriculture Development Fund and by the Saskatchewan Fruit Growers Association.

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Canadian beef producers will no longer have to send samples to other countries to have genotyping done.

Read: More Agribition coverage.

GIFS and the Canadian Beef Improvement Network announced a new strategic partnership at Canadian Western Agribition. Funding for the state-of-the-art equipment came from Farm Credit Canada’s accelerated breeding program at GIFS, announced last year, and Prairies Economic Development Canada.

WHY IT MATTERS: Genotyping is expected to play a larger role in breeding improvements as the industry advances. Being able to do the work in Canada will eliminate shipment delays and extended turnaround times for testing.

CBIN’s Sandy Russell said the beef industry has been working on this for years, but in the last seven months everything came together. Until now, the tests and storage of the information have been done in the United States and Australia.

“It’s important we work with our partners around the world, but we need our data and our resources here within Canada to be able to help support Canadian beef producers to keep supporting those world class genetics, world class beef that we’re all used to,” she said.

Russell said producers have been genotyping for a long time and it’s a cost they are used to paying. A Canadian system will create efficiencies and value, she said, but not higher prices.

Genotyping isn’t likely to replace visual appraisal.

“This is one more tool to help us do a better job of predicting the production we’re going to make in the future,” she said.

GIFS chief executive officer Steven Webb agreed.

“When you look at the FCC breeding acceleration program at GIFS, it actually links the genotype or the letters and the DNA with what is actually looked at in the field — how does it perform, whether it’s a plant, a cow, a pig. It complements and augments what the phenotypes are and helps us understand what the genotypes are.”

Understanding both visual appearance and genetic makeup can help make prediction models to drive genetic gain.

GIFS’ role is to bring the technical expertise and turn the data into information producers can actually use to make decisions faster.

“Our role is kind of the trusted honest data broker and data security,” he said.

“The data that we generate can add additional value to the industry participants by being able to have it all in one place, to be able to scale it up and leverage it for new traits and technologies for the industry,” Webb said.

Sarah Van Schothorst, CEO of the Canadian Gelbvieh Association, said the partnership represents innovation that supports producers.

“Our support of CBIN reflects the shared belief that genetic progress is strongest when we work together,” she said.

“Through the strategic partnership with GIFS, CGA has access to high throughput genotyping, sovereign data storage and management and innovative advancements in data analytics.”

This will resonate throughout the sector as breeders, commercial producers and others are able to use accurate credible genetic information, she said.

Van Schothorst said having the information in Canada will eliminate risks and delays associated with cross-border shipments, ensure secure storage and management, improve decision making to align seedstock and commercial customer needs and support long-term breed management goals.

Canadian Simmental Association president Randy Noble said producers are excited about the opportunity.

“We’ve heard all the reasons why it makes sense for Canadian seed stock producers to get involved, and the value that brings us in security of data and not having to experience some of the challenges working with companies outside of Canada,” he said.

“It’s all about helping us make the decisions so that we’re confident the seed stock that we’re producing is the right product for the industry.”

There is increasing emphasis on data and how to manage and use it, and Noble said this is another step in a continuous improvement journey.

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A team with the university’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) recently tested two vaccines — the established Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) and a newcomer on the block, MSX-1, which they hoped would provide protection without triggering the false test positives that have been so problematic for livestock vaccination in the past. With further research, they found, the latter may have potential as a vaccine for the deadly cattle disease.

The investigation found both vaccines helped mitigate the bacterial infection in lab mice in different ways.

All of the mice vaccinated with BCG — which has long been a vaccine for TB in humans and some wildlife — survived exposure to the TB-causing bacteria Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), while only 80 per cent of those vaccinated with MSX-1 remained after being infected.

That meant MSX-1 was not as strong as BCG in terms of total protection. A big pro, however, was that MSX-1 did not, in fact, interfere with the accuracy of the standard tuberculin skin test, as BCG tends to do.

The false positives from the BCG vaccine have kept it from being a feasible vaccination option for livestock, risking interference with Canada’s monitoring and, in the case of a positive result, strict control efforts against the disease.

“The BCG vaccine is not compatible with the diagnostic tests for bovine TB in livestock, in the sense that if you vaccinate cattle with BCG down the road if they do get infected, you will not be able to distinguish between whether they were vaccinated or they’ve actually gotten infected with the disease-causing bacteria,” said the project’s principal investigator, Jeffrey Chen.

Cull reduction a primary goal

The project was recently highlighted by the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), which was a key funder of the project. A post on their website expressed optimism over the findings and the role they may play in minimizing cattle culls.

“This means that there could be a vaccine with the potential to be approved to protect Canadian cattle herds from tuberculosis while still allowing the ability to test, which could mean culling only infected animals rather than the whole herd, meaning cost savings for cattle producers, the beef industry and the government,” the BCRC said.

“There are also implications to further vaccinate wildlife, other livestock and humans with this development. Further research into dosage and length of protection will help to improve the efficacy of the MSX-1 vaccine and potential approval of use.”

Advantage: MSX-1

Bovine tuberculosis is a reportable disease under the federal Health of Animals Act. It’s a zoonotic disease that can affect a wide range of mammals including livestock, wildlife and humans.

“For the beef cattle and dairy cattle sectors in Canada, it can be devastating in the sense that it can essentially block trade,” Chen noted.

Chen’s project started in 2018, including “piecemeal” experiments during the COVID-19 pandemic years.

The project to date has focused primarily on the 104-year-old BCG and MSX-1 vaccines.

“(BCG) jolts the immune system so that when an immunized individual encounters an actual infection with the bacteria that actually causes the disease, (the) immune system is essentially given a boost. It recognizes it and it’s able to fight off the infection much more efficiently,” Chen explained.

But because of the aforementioned false positives to skin tests , BCG isn’t permitted for livestock. This reaction does not occur in humans.

“For humans, there is a diagnostic test that was developed to allow you to differentiate between individuals who are vaccinated from those who get the disease, but there isn’t a similar test for livestock,” Chen said.

Meanwhile, according to the BCRC, MSX-1 is based on “a very different and harmless mycobacteria” called M. smegmatis that could be used to provide protection against bovine TB without interfering with the tuberculin test or causing negative side effects.

“I think that sort of gives … MSX-1 an advantage in that sense,” said Chen.

TB resurgence

Bovine TB has had an unfortunate return to the Prairies in recent years.

In 2023, cases in a Saskatchewan herd became Canada’s first since 2018. Another herd was locked down in Saskatchewan in 2024 and, most recently, a dairy cow in Manitoba’s Pembina Valley region tested positive — the first such finding in the province in over a decade.

As of Sept. 11, those cases had returned 59 positive TB tests so far, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Testing is still ongoing.

“As of today, testing and culling of infected herds is the only way to manage the disease once it is confirmed,” the BCRC noted.

“While this internationally recognized approach has helped to safeguard Canada’s bTB-free status and our ability to trade internationally, these control measures are very costly to the producers affected as well as the federal government.”

Outlook for a vaccine

There’s still much research to be done before a realistic vaccine is identified, if anything develops at all, said Chen. He makes an admittedly optimistic guess of two to two-and-a-half years before there’s a chance of an effective vaccine.

“We may get some data that said ‘No, this is a no-go.’ So we just have to do the work to find out,” he said.

The project was primarily to obtain proof of principle.

“(It) has to be vetted by the scientific community before we can broadly announce ‘Look — we’re on to something interesting here that we certainly need to look into further,’” said Chen.

Once peer-reviewed, the next stage will involve large-scale studies in cattle.

The durability of MSX-1 will also be a key focus in the next round of research.

“If you vaccinate, let’s say, today, how much protection will MSX-1 provide three months from now or six months from now and a year from now?” Chen said.

Future Johne’s disease applications?

Reynold Bergen, science director for BCRC, described the project as a good use of the national check-off dollars collected from producers by Canada Beef, which disperses funds to the council for research and tech development.

“Since they have to pay it, it’s really, really important that the use we’re putting those dollars to is stuff that will benefit all producers, ideally,” he said.

Bergen hopes the development of bovine TB vaccination tech will also play into a solution to Johne’s disease, a wasting illness of cattle and other ruminants.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Johnes’s is caused by a resistant species of bacteria (mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis) that belongs to the same family as tuberculosis.

“It’s not a reportable disease. There’s no trade implications from it,” said Bergen.

“But it affects a lot (of) producers and has a very real economic impact for them …. The two are related, so the technology that’s used to develop that TB vaccine could also help us to develop an effective vaccine against Johne’s disease, which is a real, clear and present issue for producers.”

Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), praised BCRC’s work in an email.

“CCA appreciates and fully supports BCRC’s focus on and dedication to producer-funded research that directly benefits Canadian beef producers. We are proud that BCRC is one of our divisions, providing unbiased scientific research on subjects that producers have identified as being of importance,” he said.

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The Certificate in Introductory Agriculture is a one-year program covering topics like the basics of agrology, agricultural science as it relates to the environment, socio-economic impacts of agriculture and “professional practice in agriculture,” the University said. These include introductory courses in plant, animal, soil and food sciences and an introduction to the major field crops of Western Canada.

Potential students might include professionals who want to broaden the scope of their practice into agriculture, educators who want to teach agricultural programs, people seeking employment in agriculture and students from other disciplines looking to broaden future career options.

The program can be taken in-person or online, students can opt for full or part-time study, and it can be taken alone or concurrently with other study programs.

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Leon Kochian is a professor of plant science in the university’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources. He also holds a research chair in in global food security.

Why it matters: Better understanding of how plant roots work can help to create plants that do more with less says plant biologist Leon Kochian.

Kochian’s research includes a focus on how crops handle abiotic (non-living) stresses in the soil, like low water levels, mineral deficits, or toxic minerals, the University of Saskatchewan said in a Sept. 4 article. His lab is exploring how root architecture can improve plants’ ability to get water and nutrients.

“We’ve developed ways to image roots in the lab … We can actually image and quantify the three-dimensional root architecture, which turns out to be a very important genetic trait that plant breeders can take advantage of to further improve different crop species,” Kochian said in the article.

“Root biology is a hot research area now, as we better understand how root systems can be improved to enable the crop to do more with less — improving crop yields while using less water and fertilizer.”

For example, Kochian’s research showed that plant cultivars with larger root systems had higher phosphorus uptake in low-phosphorus soils and higher nitrogen uptake in low-nitrogen soils, according to a candidate profile from the Royal Society of Canada.

Kochian led a team of researchers to isolate a gene in sorghum responsible for greater aluminum tolerance. According to the profile, aluminum toxicity in acidic soils is a major problem in some developing countries and can reduce crop yields by nearly 70 per cent.

He is also recognized for research that identified plant genes for transport proteins that help absorb toxic metals. This discovery opened up possibilities to reduce heavy metal accumulation in edible plants and to develop plants that can clean up contaminated soil.

“Kochian has proven himself one of the world’s most influential scientists addressing food security,” the profile said. “His work has made monumental impacts on how growers and producers look at growing the food we eat.… His knowledge continues to flourish and create positive change.”

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That’s according to a joint report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) and the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Food Security on risk in Canada’s agri-food system. The report provides results from the first phase of research the groups are gathering to help provide policy recommendations to solve issues in the agriculture sector. This first phase included a survey of more than 500 farmers, food processors, government personnel, and other agricultural stakeholders on what they’re most concerned about, and what issues should be given priority.

Already a problem

Respondents largely indicated policy, extreme weather, and trade problems were already a reality, and that such problems are perceived to be both chronic in nature and complex. As the report summary details, fewer than 15 per cent of respondents “have confidence in government to solve any of the three, while fewer than 22 per cent say they have confidence in private sector solutions. Thus, the uphill battle will evidently persist for years to come.”

Tyler McCann, CAPI’s managing director, says the survey informing the report gathered perspectives from a good cross-section of farmers, civil society, government and other industry professionals. While the top identified concerns were not themselves a surprise, McCann was intrigued by what appears to be widespread resignation.

“We see policy, extreme weather, and trade as already being a problem, even a difficult or extreme problem, but we seem to think there’s little we can do about it,” he says. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around that. It’s one thing to say were not sure what we’re gong to do about extreme weather…but on the domestic policy front, that is within our control.”

McCann adds that while people generally think Canada is ahead of many other countries on social and environmental issues, only about 30 per cent think we are ahead economically. This suggests governments must re-focus some attention to economics, and better communicate with the agricultural industry about Canada’s economic position.

Optimism and priorities

Despite some resignation, 62 per cent of respondents expressed general optimism about the direction of Canadian agriculture. The report describes that optimism stems in part from the perspective that Canada is well-positioned, or at least fairly well-positioned, to “take advantage of burgeoning markets.”

By comparison, 21 per cent of respondents said they are pessimistic. Higher levels of pessimism were identified in respondents from rural or remote areas, suggesting farmers themselves comprised much of the category.

Another take-away for McCann, however, was overlap between what respondents thought governments and private industry should focus on to improve the sector.

While research and development were rated as a higher priority for the private sector, for example, it was still identified as a priority for government. This, says McCann highlights the opportunity for greater investment and cooperation across the industry – something which is much needed, given the sector’s general habit of operating in silos. The report itself says “the preference for a focus on innovation and productivity is evident across different facets of the agriculture sector. Notably, farmers show the least preference for any one aspect of this, suggesting a wide diversity of opinion.”

Moving forward, McCann says both his organization and Canadian the Global Institute for Food Security intend to produce a “second-phase” report further analyzing these issues, and recommending “what to do about it.”

“The core belief is we need a more ambitious strategic policy solution in this country,” says McCann. “We want to develop how we take these concerns, and bring them to life. We see the risks the sector faces as a space where we need more focused action, and need to work together more.”

Key Findings from the report:

• Asked what the top priorities should be for government, trade policy, climate change adaptation, and research and development take the first three spots. For the private sector, research and development, productivity growth, and business investment are the top three.
• The markets most chosen as “massive” opportunities for the agriculture sector are India (41 per cent) and the rest of Asia outside of China and India (41 per cent). One-in-five say both the domestic Canadian market (21 per cent) and the US/Mexico (20 per cent) are massive opportunities.
• Beyond the top three threats to the sector already mentioned, input affordability, farm income and debt, human resources, and climate change were all chosen by at least one-in-three survey participants, making up a secondary tier of risks.
• Opinions among famers, government workers, civil society, and others in the farming industry diverge in some areas. While no group is overly confident that solutions to the top three challenges will be easily discovered, those in government are more confident in government problem solving and less confident in the private sector.

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Attendees took in presentations outdoors on genetics and genomics, managing forage, water and drought, plus feedlot health and management. A hot topic of conversation was the drought — or lack thereof. Much of the current research at the University of Saskatchewan focuses on drought.

“Yes, we’re getting pretty good rainfall in 2024. But drought is just around the corner,” said Bart Lardner, Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Cow-Calf and Forage Systems at the University of Saskatchewan.

Some of the research topics included the role of serotonin in acute interstitial pneumonia, maximizing wheat straw in cattle diets supplemented with canola or flax screenings, soil moisture dynamics in grazing systems, economical salinity remediation strategies and genetics and fat deposition.

In the afternoon, Brian Perillat, agribusiness specialist at Bullseye Feeds, delivered a keynote covering beef cattle markets.

“There’s a lot of awesome research. There’s a lot of excitement here,” Perillat said. “It’s certainly a lot more exciting when we’re getting paid these kinds of prices for calves.”

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Ending a long fight with congestive heart failure, Henry died Friday in Saskatoon at age 83, having continued to write until very shortly before his passing.

Born in 1940 at Milden, about 100 km southwest of Saskatoon, Henry studied agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan, earning a master’s degree in soil science in 1968.

Earlier this year he recalled how, in the wake of the financial and agronomic devastation of Prairie farming in the 1930s, “my dad showed me the cheque that cleared the mortgage (and) added, ‘there will never be another mortgage on this farm.’ I respected that decision but it was part of the reason I went off to U of S after two years on the farm.”

At U of S, he joined the soil science department in 1968 as an assistant, en route to becoming a full professor and extension specialist there in 1980.

The Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame, into which Henry was inducted in 2004, said his research on irrigation and on crops’ potassium requirements “showed the way to increased production” while his research on the underlying cause of soil salinity “provided a major breakthrough in the management of saline soils.”

Although Henry retired from the U of S in 1996, his outreach to farmers continued in Grainews, where his soils column has appeared regularly for the past 48 years. Former Grainews editor Kari Belanger in 2022 hailed Henry for his “extraordinary ability to take complex information about soils and convey these ideas in a manner anyone can understand.”

His contributions to Grainews have included a Prairie stubble soil moisture map, released annually since 1979 and used as a reference tool across the industry.

His published works also include Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water, which has undergone multiple printings since its first appearance in 2003, and for which the copyright was recently transferred to Saskatoon-based Croptimistic Technology to continue its publication.

In 2000, Henry also wrote and published Catalogue Houses: Eaton’s and Others, a book about the “catalogue homes” or “kit homes” sold to Prairie customers by Eaton’s and other retailers in the first half of the 20th century.

Henry also continued farming on three quarters at Dundurn, about 30 km south of Saskatoon, often describing that site as a “field lab” for his further research. He also continued consulting privately in Canada and overseas, including in Tanzania, China and Eswatini (then called Swaziland).

In his professional life Henry also served as president of the Saskatoon branch and provincial council of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists, president of the Saskatchewan Agriculture Graduates Association and chairman of the Saskatchewan Advisory Fertilizer Council.

Other accolades for his work included an honorary doctor of laws degree from the U of S (2022), honorary life membership in the Canadian Society of Extension (1994), fellowship with the Agricultural Institute of Canada (1989) and the Agronomy Merit Medal from Western Cooperative Fertilizers (1985).

At Henry’s request, a private family interment will be held with no funeral. Before his passing, he wrote that “anyone wishing to connect with the spirit of the deceased” could watch his 2022 convocation address to the U of S College of Agriculture and Bioresources and Western College of Veterinary Medicine (roll ahead to about the 46-minute mark) — and/or listen to this.

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For master’s student Rhea Thomas Thommana and PhD student Kashika Sethi, food replication is on the horizon as well.

Thomas Thommana and Sethi were at Ag in Motion this week with a 3D printer designed to incorporate plant-based ingredients into food, part of ongoing research by University of Saskatchewan scientists Martin Reaney and Michael Nickerson.

3D-printed food already exists. However, through the food sciences program at the University of Saskatchewan, Thomas Thommana and Sethi are building recipes that could mean plant-based materials specifically designed for a 3D printer.

“We’re still trying to figure out those concentrations to make it shelf-stable and also maybe in the future we could try dehydrating them, making it into a powder,” said Thomas Thommana.

The end result will be nutrient-rich and edible final products with implications in the healthcare field. The pea protein slurry they had on display was just a starting point, containing pregelatinized starch, canola oil and water.

“This particular slurry is basically made for the patients with dysphagia who have difficulty swallowing,” Sethi said.

The benefits of a 3D printer are that the slurry can be made into different shapes, texture, colours and tastes to make them palatable, to adults and even to children who need a nutritional boost.

Finding the right consistency also means finding a way to adjust the ingredients to fit different nutritional needs, said Thomas Thommana, as this research could mean tailor-making hospital foods to fit the needs of individual patients.

“People who actually have dietary restrictions can actually consume these things because these are made out of basic compounds that are safe for everybody,” she said.

Finding the right moisture content, right protein source and right composition of other ingredients has been the challenge. While a pea protein was on display at the University of Saskatchewan booth, Thomas Thommana said they are working with fava beans, canola, different oilseeds and other beans to see which one would work the best.

With a three-minute printing time, there will be a level of convenience in their 3D-printed food recipes, especially as 3D printers become more popular. If global research into 3D-printable food gets to the point where the packets can be sold like a cake mix, it could be as simple as putting the wet and dry ingredients together, said Thomas Thommana.

“We basically put it in the 3D printer and then we get high-protein-content, nutritious food out of it in the shape and size that we need.”

For Thomas Thommana and Sethi, this future of everyday food replication is more than just something out of science fiction, but the end goal of their research.

— Becky Zimmer reports for Glacier FarmMedia.

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