Faculty Strengthens Canada's Only MBA in Food and Agribusiness Management

GUELPH, Ontario, March 5, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - The University of Guelph has a long history in food and agribusiness. The two-year MBA program combines unique face-to-face and interactive online learning with world-class professors with real-life experience. The program has graduated many industry leaders over the past two decades.

The agricultural industry is changing - new technologies, globalization, deregulation and new supply chain management - and the MBA program has responded with enhanced courses and professors in touch with the changing environment.

"We have introduced more real-time, real-world learning," says Prof. Ken Smith the new Associate Dean (executive programs). "I believe we have attracted the strongest faculty and they make our agribusiness MBA program the best in the country."

Before joining the University, Smith practised as a strategy consultant for 25 years. His extensive client work and research interests are focused on business and public policy issues related to industry restructuring. His work has been widely published in the business press, including the Harvard Business Review.

Prof. Mike von Massow is an expert in supply chain management and teaches the operations management course. He has 25 years of experience and is an active researcher and speaker in the area of food value chains. He worked for Cargill and has consulted with large and small business in the industry.

Considered an international authority in price risk management, Prof. Francesco Braga is a world-class expert in trading and hedging in agribusiness. He taught risk management to students in Europe, North and South America, and has consulted extensively throughout the world.

"Our program is designed for up-and-coming food and agribusiness professionals who want to enhance their credentials without disrupting their careers," says Smith. "And we've assembled a world-class faculty to help students learn the ins and outs of this global industry."

The MBA program begins each May and can be completed within two years. The registration deadline is fast approaching. Prospective students have until March 31, 2012 to apply.

About the University of Guelph

Receiving over $140 million of research funding in the 2010/11 fiscal year, the University of Guelph is one of the most research-intensive universities in Canada. It is internationally renowned for its broad spectrum of research. For more information about the University of Guelph's MBA programs, visit www.uoguelph.ca/cme/mba.

Turfgrass Education Initiative to Help Rural Communities

photo credit: Wildlifecontrol via Flickr

GUELPH Ontario July 29, 2011 - University of Guelph News Release

Safe school grounds and high-quality municipal sports fields maintained without the use of traditional pesticides are the focus of a new University of Guelph-based initiative.

The Turfgrass Outreach Project (TOP) offers support to rural groundkeepers across southern Ontario, providing workshops, training programs and an online knowledge centre.

The project is being run by scientists and educators from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute and is supported by the Knowledge Translation and Transfer program, a new initiative under the University's partnership agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). It sets aside funds for projects that improve the impact of research projects by transforming research knowledge into use for different research audiences across the agriculture, food and rural sectors.

Without cosmetic pesticides - which have not been permitted for use since 2009 - rural groundskeepers have had to make major changes to manage school and municipal sports fields. But so far, public outreach has focused on the impacts on residential lawns and urban sports fields. This is an outstanding need that this project is looking to address, said Eric Lyons, a professor of plant agriculture and TOP project manager.

“Urban areas have often had municipal restrictions in place for a while, but in many cases, rural communities have had to adapt very quickly to managing turf without cosmetic pesticides,” Lyons said. “The education and outreach to deal with that just isn’t in place in rural communities like it has been in urban centres.”

In response, TOP is pulling expertise from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College and School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, and OMAFRA to create accessible educational opportunities for rural groundskeepers. It’s also partnered with the Sports Turf Association.

“We welcome the chance to learn more about the specific challenges faced by rural schools and municipalities,” said Nicole Markwick, TOP’s project co-ordinator. “For example, the safety of sports fields is important because they are used year-round for various sports and events that impact rural communities economically, socially and environmentally.”

TOP also aims to foster stronger networks for continuing education on sustainable resource management for rural turfgrass managers. It has also partnered with community organizations.

More information about the Turfgrass Outreach Project is available online.

Retired University of Guelph Professor Receives Inaugural Award for Animal Welfare

GUELPH, Ontario July 12, 2011 - University of Guelph News Release

A University of Guelph emeritus professor is the first recipient of an international award recognizing leadership in animal welfare. Ian Duncan received the Medal for Outstanding Contributions from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).

The award recognizes exceptional achievements and contributions to the advancement of animal welfare. It’s open to any scientist whose research, teaching, service or advocacy has significantly benefited animals.

Duncan received the honour at the federation’s recent international symposium in the United Kingdom. More than 200 delegates from 24 countries attended.

“Ian Duncan is one of the pioneers of the new direction in animal welfare science that began around 40 years ago with investigation of the animal’s own perspective of its world,” said James Kirkwood, UFAW’s chief executive and scientific director.

“He has had a highly productive career and his work has been very influential. He is well known for promoting the idea that welfare is about animals’ feelings, which has come to be widely accepted. Work by Ian revolutionized the study of poultry behaviour, inspiring scientists and others around the world, and ultimately helped lead to the European Union ban on battery cages.”

Duncan, who was an U of G animal and poultry science professor for 21 years, was one of the first people to bring a scientific approach to solving animal welfare problems.

After studying agriculture at the University of Edinburgh, he pursued PhD research on how laying hens respond to their environment. Hens typically live four or five birds to a cage, with cages stacked three or four tiers high.

“Sometimes scientists work away in a particular area for many years without anyone appearing to pay any attention to what they are saying,” Duncan said. “Such was the case with my suggestion that animal welfare is all to do with what the animal feels. It is therefore hugely rewarding to see this idea now being generally accepted by the scientific community and being acknowledged by this award, for which I am truly grateful.”

Duncan worked for the Poultry Research Centre in Edinburgh, which is part of the institute that cloned the sheep Dolly. He studied poultry behaviour and welfare for 20 years before immigrating to Canada in 1989 and joining the faculty of U of G. He’s published more than 150 scientific papers on animal welfare.

Duncan holds the Emeritus Chair of Animal Welfare at Guelph and is the former director of U of G’s Colonel K.L. Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. It was the first Canadian centre dedicated to studying how to improve quality of life for animals.

He received the inaugural Animals and Society Course Award in 2000 from the Humane Society of the United States, North America's largest animal protection organization.

Begging Bear to Return in Fall

GUELPH, Ontario July 7, 2011 - University of Guelph Press Release - Those of you who have been missing the Begging Bear sculpture normally standing outside the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (MSAC) at the University of Guelph will be happy to learn the campus celebrity will soon return.

The bronze sculpture, which was knocked over in March and had to be removed for repairs, will be officially welcomed back to its rightful spot in a reinstallation ceremony October 1, 2011. The ceremony will be the highlight of events celebrating Culture Day at the MSAC.

“The unveiling will be impressive,” said Judith Nasby, MSAC director and curator. “The sculpture suffered deep scratches and bruising of the bronze, but it will emerge looking refreshed.”

Created by Carl Skelton and installed in 1999, the Canadiana/Begging Bear, posed with one inviting arm outstretched, is an artistic metaphor for our native animals’ need for protection and our encroachment on the environment, said Nasby.

The 7 ½-foot-tall sculpture has also become a beloved icon to Guelph residents. The bear can often be found decorated or dressed up, making it a must-see for passers-by on Gordon Street.
The bear was missed as soon as it was removed for repairs, said Aidan Ware, MSAC co-ordinator of education and development.

“It’s a testament to his value in the community,” said Ware. “People cared enough to write to local papers and email us asking after the bear. A suggestion was made that the bear be moved to a less accessible position, but it’s wonderful to keep him where he was, where he can continue to engage with the public.”

Artcast Inc. in Georgetown, Ontario, is using steel pins to stabilize the bear, which weighs some 350 pounds. Rather than appearing to stand on tiptoe in the grass, the bear will stand on a two-inch-high bronze platform atop a four-foot-deep concrete base buried in the ground.

Besides the unveiling, Culture Day will include the creation and photographing of Guelph’s first “human quilt,” and a late-night lantern tour of the MSAC sculpture park and grounds.

MSAC has launched a special fundraising effort, "Share Your Care For Our Bear," to help pay for the repairs. For more information or to make a donation, email msac@uoguelph.ca

Canada Seeks to Breed Stronger Honeybees

from TreeHugger.com
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA

From tough love beekeeping to reviving the native black honeybee, there are many folks who believe that the answer to saving the bees lies in either breeding for better genetics and/or encouraging nature and evolution to do the same. One program in Canada is setting out to actively breed better, more resilient bees—and it is enlisting the help of its local beekeepers to do so.

Physorg.com reports that researchers from the University of Manitoba and the University of Guelph are seeking to breed better bees, with the hope of building up resistance to disease and mites. The program is also looking at ways to better manage bee colonies, and to screen new products for disease and mite control.

With Global losses of bee colonies ranging from 10 to 30 percent in Europe, 30 percent in the United States, and up to 85 percent in Middle East, there is good reason for researchers to be pushing hard for a breakthrough. While no magic bullet has yet been found, Rob Currie, entomology professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, revealed that they had cut losses of bees that were deliberately exposed to diseases in tests from 75 percent to about 40 percent.

But this is far from purely an academic lab exercise—Ottawa has agreed to provide $244,000 to the Ontario Beekeepers' Association to experiment with different methods of caring for bees, including varying the kinds and amounts of food bees are given, as well as looking at how bees are transported for pollination...read more story at TreeHugger.com

U of G Opens Advanced Public, Animal Health Research Facility

Guelph, Ontario October 07, 2010

Canada has strengthened its capacity to solve health problems that occur at the intersection of the human and animal worlds with a new cutting-edge research and diagnostic centre that opened today at the University of Guelph.

The Pathobiology and Animal Health Laboratory will support the growing role of veterinarians in research and teaching in public health, infectious diseases, pathology and immunology.

Researchers working in sophisticated laboratories will diagnose and study a range of animal diseases and pathogenic organisms, from bird flu and SARS to E. coli and West Nile virus. The 126,000-square-foot, four-storey structure also houses a 120-seat lecture theatre, flexible lab space, seminar rooms, teaching labs and office space.

The federal and provincial governments have invested some $62 million in this project. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada committed $37 million; the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) contributed $25 million.

“The health and safety of Ontarians and a safe food supply are top priorities for the McGuinty government,” said Carol Mitchell, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. “Our government is pleased to provide funding to the University of Guelph to help support ongoing research activities that preserve consumer confidence, protect against animal disease and demonstrate our commitment to a competitive and sustainable agri-food industry.”

U of G president Alastair Summerlee said the facility places Guelph at the forefront of improving the health of animals, humans and the environment.

“Here, current and future scientists will make and share discoveries that will improve the health and well-being of animals, people and the planet,” he said. “This new building will further our ability to identify both the risks we face and the potential benefits and treatments that can be realized by taking an integrated approach to these questions."

Veterinarians have a great deal to share about health relationships among humans, animals and the environment, added Ontario Veterinary College dean Elizabeth Stone.

“About 75 per cent of new and emerging diseases are zoonotic, transmitted from animals to humans and back again," she said. "Animal health researchers play an important role in identifying, controlling and understanding this phenomenon. We will use this knowledge to improve the health of animals and the prospects for human health, here and around the world.”

As a partner with OMAFRA in the Ontario Animal Health Surveillance Network, the U of G Animal Health Laboratory helps maintain healthy animals and safe food in Ontario by providing specialized diagnostic services for veterinarians and public- and private-sector agencies.

The new lab areas include open-concept space that encourages cross-training and staff sharing. Improved facilities also allow for better control of pathogenic organisms, said Stone.

“This will greatly improve our biosecurity and biocontainment, to protect both our staff and our clients.”

The new building fulfils a key component of OVC’s strategic vision as the college approaches its 150th birthday in 2012. Key initiatives include the OVC Health Sciences Centre with its Companion Animal Medical Complex, Large Animal Medical Complex, Hill's Pet Nutrition Primary Healthcare Centre, animal cancer centre, Equine Sports Medicine and Reproduction Centre, and large-animal isolation unit.

Canada Approves Enviropig™, Piglets Inherit Genetic Modifications for Clean Manure

from TreeHugger.com
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin

Canada has approved limited production of animals dubbed "enviropigs™," a genetically modified breed of pigs producing up to 65% less phosphorous in pig poo and urine. The pigs pass the genetic modification along to their young, as well. The very idea that a genetically modified animal rates the moniker "enviro-" points to the severity of the issue addressed by the science behind these pigs. Phosphorous is a fertilizer. Phosphorous in animal and human wastes runs off or discharges to surface waters, where it spurs large algal blooms. The algae use up the oxygen in the water, leaving behind a "dead zone," an area of lake, river, or ocean where nothing can live due to the hypoxic conditions.

How does the enviropig work (image in extended)? And does the dead zone problem justify permitting production of these "franken-pigs"?

The genetic modification used by scientists at the University of Guelph, Ontario involves an enzyme known as phytase. Phosphorous plays an essential role in the growth of bones, construction of DNA and RNA, and in regulating cell and organ processes. But most of the phosphorous in a grain-based diet are bound up as organic complexes which pigs cannot digest. Supplementing pig diets with phytase, itself produced from genetically modified fungi Aspergillus Niger, has been advocated as an environmental protection measure.... Read the full story on TreeHugger