Rosalind Morris and Erika Gaertner graduated from OAC at a time when women rarely pursued agricultural education. But, these talented women went on to lead impactful and prolific careers in botany, all while maintaining a lifelong friendship. Here are just a few brief highlights from their careers.
Economist, data analyst, researcher, statistician. Bishnu Saha says all these roles complement each other and are appropriate titles for his work. His daily tasks as director of the Yukon Bureau of Statistics require a clear understanding of the intertwined systems of production and consumption. They also require the ability to analyze data for insight on issues, such as the effects of a new policy on trade or the reasons for trends in the labour market.
In 1970, the first tree, an ironwood, was planted in the newly established University of Guelph Arboretum.
Today the 400-acre site is almost unrecognizable from its beginnings as farm fields anchored by woodlots planted in the early days of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC).
Establishing an arboretum had been a dream of many OAC professors, dating back to 1939 when Prof. Leslie Hancock proposed a plan for a small arboretum near Watson Hall at the north east edge of campus.
Latin America is biodiverse, with prosperous agricultural industries. The region is a world leader in food production and exportation. But local populations, including Indigenous peoples and rural communities, face significant food security problems.
Prof. Silvia Sarapura, two-time OAC alumna (M.Sc. Capacity Development and Extension ’08 and PhD Rural Studies ’13), supports these vulnerable populations through her research and knowledge extension.
$25 doesn’t get you a lot these days. But it got Thomasina Orr a wild mustang.
In 2019, Thomasina had settled into a job she loved, working for Pfera Inc., a tech company that provides software for horse breeders. She had graduated from the equine management major in 2016 of the Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management degree.
“I was doing less travelling and felt more stable and good in my career, so I wanted a project, one where I could see the rewards,” she says.
Her job was a perfect fit, but Thomasina could find herself falling into a rut.
“She’s just a girl, and she’s on fire… Oh, we got our feet on the ground… And we’re burning it down... This girl is on fire.” These are lyrics from a popular 2012 Alicia Keys song, but they’re also a clever analogy used by Big Mike to represent the current state of the planet for their 2020 Science is a Drag lip sync performance.
The pet food aisle can be an overwhelming experience for pet owners. Scanning labels, you can make decisions based on health benefits, sourcing practices, cost, ingredients, breed and more.
Behind each pet food formulation, there is a team of scientists providing you (and your pets) these options. And more than likely, one of those scientists is an OAC grad.
Goats are barnyard animals known for their playful nature and comical attitudes. In North America, they are a favourite at petting zoos, star in funny YouTube videos and are farmed for both meat and dairy. Dairy goats provide products like milk, cheese – and even ice cream. The idea of goat’s milk ice cream may seem ridiculous to some, but what started off as an “udderly” ridiculous idea has turned into a successful food business. Udderly Ridiculous is a gourmet goat milk ice cream company owned and operated by OAC ’92A alumnus
Matthew Smit is a recent graduate from the Associate Diploma in Turfgrass Management program. He now works as an assistant superintendent at the Bayview Golf & Country Club in Markham, Ontario. We recently chatted with him to learn more about his University of Guelph experience.
Precision agriculture is a broad term used by many, but its everyday applicability is less broadly understood.
Third year food, agricultural and resource economics student Nicolas Bannon wants to change that.
Bannon recently won one of three Farms.com Precision Agriculture Scholarships, worth $2000 US, for his video entry under the theme of “environmental benefits of precision agriculture to protecting the planet.”