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A delegation of Canadian senators conducted a full day fact-finding mission on Friday, March 6, 2026, visiting several major food system organizations and research facilities across Southwestern Ontario. Senator Tracy Muggli talked with Farms.com editor Andrew Joseph on March 11 to provide her views on visiting and learning about how the Ontario Beef Research Centre, Guelph Food Innovation Centre, Arrell Food Institute, and Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility go about their business to help create domestic food security. The tour supported the Senate Committee on Agriculture an

Avian influenza has been found in dairy cattle in the Netherlands--the first case outside of the United States. U of G Immunologist Reseracher Dr. Shayan Sharif explains how it was identified, studied and contained in the U.S., preventing further spread. Read the story in Farmtario: Researchers stay on trail of bovine bird flu origin.

Nearly 400 participants came together for a day-long virtual gathering to explore the intersections of Indigenous Knowledges, agriculture and food.

The Weaving Knowledge Gathering invited researchers, community leaders, students and Knowledge Holders to convene, with the goal of fostering dialogue and a deeper understanding of balanced, responsible and respectful research with Indigenous Peoples and communities.

University of Guelph researchers are continuing to explore how an Indigenous planting practice called the “Three Sisters” could contribute to future small-scale, sustainable farming and community-driven research. 

University of Guelph researcher Dr. Rebecca Hallett has been trapping, testing and quantifying canola flower midge (CFM) populations since 2021. Hallett spoke to members of the Ontario Canola Growers during the annual general meeting about her work determining where swede midge and CFM are feeding in this province.

The 2026 Northern Ontario Ag Conference was held in February in Sudbury, bringing together farmers, researchers, funders, suppliers and other industry representatives to talk about challenges and solutions in agriculture in the North. A panel led by Dr. Sara Epp, U of G professor in rural planning and development, focused on celebrating Northern successes in agriculture.

A renewed $1.3 million investment from Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) ensures poultry welfare research at the University of Guelph will continue to guide animal care standards and inform management decision. Dr. Alexandra Harlander, professor in OAC’s Department of Animal Biosciences, has been named the new Egg Farmers of Canada Chair in Poultry Welfare. She is recognized for her internationally respected leadership and science that directly informs welfare standards and on-farm practices.

Pabuayon will join the U of G’s Department of Plant Agriculture in OAC on June 1st and will be based at the University's Ridgetown Campus, strengthening its applied research and extension efforts in bean production. Her position has been made possible through major support from the Ontario Bean Growers (OBG), whose investment in U of G’s bean research program continues to expand innovation for the province’s growers.

Dr. Steve Loewen always has his sights on traits that tomatoes will need in the future. After almost four decades as a processing tomato plant breeder, his curiosity and focus on improving the odds for this segment of Ontario agriculture is still what gets him out the door every day. 

Loewen’s work supports the processing tomato sector, which harvested over 670,000 tonnes of tomatoes in 2025 and has a gross farm value of nearly $100 million.

It took 14 years of experimentation for U of G potato breeder Gary Johnson to come up with what we know now as the Yukon Gold potato. Read all about its invention: Canadian invention: There's 'gold' in them thar potatoes - Yahoo News Canada