University of Guelph Bioproducts Centre Receives $2 Million

GUELPH Ontario - November 16, 2012 - U of G News Release - The University of Guelph’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC) received $2 million today from the federal government.

The funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) will be used to purchase equipment and to expand the centre. BDDC scientists turn plant materials into resins, polymers and tough fibres to make biobased plastics and bioproducts.

The funding was announced in Guelph today by Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development and regional minister for southwestern Ontario, on behalf of Gary Goodyear, minister of state.

Finley said the money will help “ensure that researchers have the tools they need to develop and assess new bio-based products that have tremendous commercial applications” and will help provide new jobs.

U of G president Alastair Summerlee added:

“This is an investment in the future. It will allow us to expand and enhance the BDDC, where scientists from across the disciplines are working together on viable solutions to some of today’s most pressing problems. They are finding new uses for agricultural products, creating green alternatives and making Canada a world leader in the field.”

The centre opened in October 2008. Researchers study ways to use soy, wheat, corn and other crops to make everything from car parts and furniture to fuel. They also investigate new crops for use in composite materials. They hope planted-based materials will help reduce our dependency on petroleum-based products.

Rob Gordon, dean of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College, said the BDDC supports and important and evolving role for agriculture.

“It’s a catalyst for innovative green products that will ultimately enhance the value of Ontario’s agriculture sector. It also provides a training environment that will help to further position Ontario as a global leader in bioproducts.”

The BDDC is directed by Amar Mohanty, a professor in U of G’s Department of Plant Agriculture and School of Engineering and holder of the Premier’s Research Chair in Biomaterials and Transportation.

“Bioproducts are the wave of the future,” Mohanty said. “We sincerely thank FedDev Ontario for this timely contribution that will accelerate the creation of innovative green biomaterials-based solutions to create a sustainable competitive advantage for businesses in our province and beyond in the fast-growing bioeconomy.”

Created in 2009 under Canada’s Economic Action Plan, FedDev Ontario is intended to help businesses and communities in southern Ontario to compete globally.

Its Harvest Season!

Be sure to buy local this holiday season and get out to Strom's Farm for some outdoor family fun!

Strom's Farm is a second generation farm started in 1978 with Jay's love for sweet corn. Jay and Marg started with one acre of sweet corn then added pumpkins in 1996. Channing, their oldest son, returned to the farm in 2000 with his wife Amy. In 2002, they added a corn maze and in 2006 Channing and Amy bought the farm and added a bakery. Channing and Amy, along with their two sons, invite you to visit our farm for quality produce and an exceptional fall experience.

Our season begins around August 1st and continues until October 31st. In August, we pride ourselves in the freshest produce and quality baking. Mid-September our farm is transformed with the beauty of autumn. Our farm is filled with thousands of pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, hay bales, and many items for your fall decorating. Join us on the weekends, starting September 22, for our 6 acre corn maze, tile, rope, cedar and straw maze, wagon rides, pedal carts, corn trail, sand pile, pumpkin chuckin', and homegrown popcorn!

Strom's Farm
5089 Wellington Rd 32, Guelph, Ontario
ph (519) 822-1070
fx (519) 821-3583
info@strom.ca

Driving Directions

Pumpkin Picking

Every pumpkin is known by its stem. - proverb

...from the Old Farmers Almanac - October brings autumn into full swing, and who doesn’t love a fall walk in the woods or a stroll through an apple orchard to enjoy the season’s bounty?

We’re noticing pumpkins brightening up farm stands across much of the country. For many, the harvest came early. Here are some tips for pumpkin picking:

...Do not pick pumpkins off the vine because they have reached your desired size. Wait until they mature. (If you want small pumpkins, buy a small variety.)

...Cut fruit off the vine; do not tear. Be sure not to cut too close to the pumpkin and to leave a liberal amount of stem

...Before storing, pumpkins should be cured in the sun for about a week to toughen the skin.

...Early harvest? No worries. If you store in a cool, dry, dark place between 50 and 55 degrees, the pumpkins should last about 6 months.

...They are best stored sitting on a board or cardboard or straw (not a cement floor) about 2 inches apart (not stacked or touching).

...One of our readers shared this tip: Wash a picked pumpkin in a very mild chlorine solution (1 cup of chlorine to 1 gallon of water. This gets rid of bacteria that cause rot. Then thoroughly dry.

See our pumpkin page for more harvest tips - and great reader Q&As.

If you’re going to a pumpkin patch, remember to buy pumpkins with stems attached; they will keep better.

Listen! The wind is rising,
And the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
Now for October eves!

- Humbert Wolfe (1885–1940)

Recipes

All this talk of pumpkin gets us excited about mouthwatering pumpkin recipes.

Enjoy these fall favorites—courtesy of our new Everyday Baking cookbook.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Sugar Cake

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

TIP: See how to cook and clean a pumpkin.

Rural living could be an obesity risk factor

The United States is currently going through an obesity epidemic, and public health experts and others are understandably very concerned. There isn't a single state that has an obesity rate of under 20 percent and the medical costs associated with obesity were estimated to be approximately $147 billion in 2008.

Many researchers have wondered whether there might be a rural-urban divided as regards obesity rates, and a team of scholars at the University of Kansas and the Unviersity of Florida has done some work on the subject that is garnering attention.

Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the team found that 39.6% of people in rural areas were obese, as compared with 33.4% of those in urban areas. The team of researchers also noted that several factors were associated with higher rates of obesity, including being married, consuming a high daily calorie intake or a higher percentage of calories from fat, or being of African-American descent.

One of the investigators, Professor Michael G. Perri, noted that

"Rural areas have fewer resources to assist residents with lifestyle changes related to weight management."

It remains to be seen what might be done to address this disparity, but one solution might be to use the expertise of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service, which has offices in just about every county in the United States.

Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times

>From The Scout Report,
Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012.
http://scout.wisc.edu/

Canada celebrates Organic Week Sept. 22-29, 2012

OTTAWA, September 21, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - For the third consecutive year, the Canadian Organic Growers and Canada Organic Trade Association are partnering with groups across the country to celebrate Organic Week in Canada.

This energized week recognizes the environmental and community-building contributions of organic growers and businesses in both urban and rural communities. From organic farm tours to harvest meals to wine tastings—there are dozens of events taking place across the country. A school contest is also encouraging children to get their hands dirty and better understand farming.

"In Canada, there are more than 3700 organic growers," said Beth McMahon, Executive Director of the Canadian Organic Growers. "Organic Week is an opportunity to applaud their commitment to the environment and a healthy food system. We really encourage people to get to know their farmers."

Organizers of Organic Week are also taking the opportunity to highlight the strong growth of the sector: with 66.5% growth in organic farms since 2001, according to the latest Census of Agriculture. The value of the organic market is now valued at more than $2.6 billion in sales, and has grown by 160% since 2006.

"Organics are a tightly regulated and inspected system, which prohibits synthetic toxins, GMOs and many additives in growing and processing," said Matthew Holmes, Executive Director of the Canada Organic Trade Association. "As people continue to look to reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals and genetically modified ingredients, as well support environmentally-friendly choices, demand for organics will only grow."

To find out more about events in your area, visit www.organicweek.ca.

Organic Week was made possible this year by champion sponsors Nature's Path Foods, Hain Celestial Canada, The Big Carrot, Mill St. Brewery, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils, The Canadian Health Food Association, and UNFI Canada; as well as national supporters Ambrosia Organic Growers, Beretta, Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, Earthbound Farm, Ecocert, Ethical Bean Coffee, Fruit D'Or, Grainworks Inc., Kamut International, Left Coast Naturals, Nature's Fare Markets, Organic Garage, Organic Meadow, ShaSha Bread Co., Silk Soy Beverage, SunOpta, Taste of Nature, and USC Canada.

SOURCE: CANADA ORGANIC TRADE ASSOCIATION

Paper Explores Environmental, Economic Costs of Dam Removal

GUELPH Ontario - September 11, 2012 - University of Guelph News Release - It’s a “dam” dilemma for more and more resource managers. Remove a dam to help restore sport fishes in the Great Lakes or to save endangered lake sturgeon, for instance, and you risk allowing parasitic sea lamprey to harm the fishery or further decimate a threatened species.

A new review paper whose authors include University of Guelph biologists discusses tradeoffs and possible economic or environmental costs of removing dams or creating fishways, an increasingly popular option among resource managers.

The paper was published online this month in the journal Fish and Fisheries.

“There’s a large push for new fish passageways and dam removal,” said Rob McLaughlin, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and the paper’s lead author.

He and former master’s student Eric Smyth worked with fisheries scientists in Michigan, Massachusetts, Ontario and British Columbia.

More resource managers are looking to fishways and dam removal to help build up migratory fish populations and to restore stream biodiversity and natural ecosystems.

Referring to fish and invertebrates that can harm native or desirable fish, McLaughlin said,

“The reality is that dams can be good if they’re blocking aquatic invasive species. There’s a need for a more nuanced approach as opposed to a bandwagon, one-size-fits-all approach to the problem.”

The team looked at almost 200 research publications involving more than 40 fish species and numerous dam locations across North America, Europe and Australia. Their paper discusses tradeoffs and effects of dam removal and fishway construction on various species, and ways to assess costs, benefits and tradeoffs.

The authors highlight an example involving invasive sea lamprey, highly prized walleye, and endangered lake sturgeon and northern brook lamprey at the Black Sturgeon dam in northern Lake Superior.

Smyth studied the Black Sturgeon River for his master’s thesis at Guelph. Referring to competing interests from sport fishers to environmental groups to government agencies, he said,

“There is no simple way to resolve the tradeoffs. No matter what, there’s going to be some negative consequences to management.”

Around the Great Lakes, a number of dams were built initially to control water levels and later modified to thwart sea lamprey. These parasitic fish entered the Great Lakes in the early 20th century.

Canada and the United States created the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) to control sea lamprey. McLaughlin has worked with the GLFC on lamprey control, and came to Guelph in 2002 under a GLFC-funded ecosystem program.

Ministers of Education Mark International Literacy Day

TORONTO, September 8, 2012 /Canada NewsWire/ - Provincial and territorial education ministers are joining today with governments, business and labour, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals from around the world to celebrate International Literacy Day (ILD).

ILD was established in 1965 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to highlight the fundamental value of literacy and promote greater literacy around the world.

UNESCO has chosen the theme "Literacy and Peace" for ILD 2012 to underscore the role that literacy can play in resolving conflict and promoting civic engagement and social harmony.

"Ministers of education are pleased to add their voice to the global call for greater literacy for all peoples," said the Honourable Ramona Jennex, Chair of CMEC and Minister of Education for Nova Scotia. "We recognize that literacy is a one of the pillars of an open and democratic, economically strong, and socially inclusive society."

Provinces and territories continue their efforts on literacy through a wide range of programs and initiatives adapted to meet the varied needs of their respective populations. This flexible approach — a hallmark of Canada's education systems — ensures that government resources are used to maximum effect and successes are shared among provinces and territories and on the international stage.

Canadians can learn more about literacy in Canada by visiting www.cmec.ca/literacy.

Literacy also remains an integral part of the work of CMEC and is addressed in a variety of programs and activities, including education data and learning assessment, international engagement, and early childhood education.

Of particular note is CMEC's participation, in partnership with the federal government, in OECD's flagship assessment of adult skills and learning, the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC will provide Canadians with one of the most complete portraits ever of adult skills in Canada, including literacy, and will inform policy development for years to come. The first results from PIAAC will be released in fall 2013.

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.