Our “places” are ever-changing and evolving.
Ensuring that our downtowns, small towns, regions and communities thrive in this change is the concern. How does one go about improving a community in economic, social or cultural ways?
In Grade 10, Wendy Zhang, B.Sc. (Agr.) 2016, M.Sc. 2018, set a goal for herself. She would grow rice in Canada.
Last fall, Wendy harvested her first Canadian rice crop from a 2.5-acre test plot in Chatham Kent, Ont. The pilot project of Ontario FangZheng Agriculture Enterprise Inc. was a terrific success, with an average yield of 6,920 lbs. per acre (or 154 bushels per acre).
Wendy came to Canada from China nine years ago to pursue her bachelor’s degree.
The University of Guelph’s Honey Bee Research Centre (HBRC) delivers some of the world’s most impactful honey bee research and outreach, and it does so out of a living room.
The world-renowned centre operates out of a residential bungalow built in the 1970s. What was a living room is now a meeting and teaching space, the kitchen is a sales room, and the former bedrooms are offices. The bee yard is scattered across the residential-style lawns. The labs are nearly 2km away.
The Department of Plant Agriculture is pleased to announce that Kimberley Schneider will be joining the department as an assistant professor in the area of forage and service crops. She will begin in her role on January 2, 2020.
Schneider will lead a comprehensive research program focused on forage species adapted to Ontario, and other crops grown for the provision of ecosystem services.
The Department of Plant Agriculture is pleased to announce Melanie Kalischuk as a new assistant professor in the department, focusing on specialty crop innovation. Kalischuk begins in the role on March 15, 2020.
She will lead a comprehensive research program focused on small acreage horticultural crops produced in Ontario, such as berries, wine grapes, ginseng, hazelnuts, hops and specialty vegetables.
In the summer of 2018, OAC released a strategic vision, Our Shared Priorities, to guide the college until 2023.
The college is now reporting back to its community for the first time, with a listing of actions, new initiatives, process changes, investments and best practices.
Growing up on a farm in Goderich, Ontario combined with an interest in business led Tyler Durst to the University of Guelph. Durst studied in the food and agricultural business (co-op) program, where he worked at RBC Dominion Securities (DS) for one of his placements. Today, Durst continues to work with RBC DS as an associate advisor. We chatted with Durst to learn more about his role and to recap some highlights from his time on campus.
The opening remarks at the 4th annual Equine Industry Symposium held at University of Guelph challenged attendees to consider if they are masters of change. Akaash Maharaj, facilitator of the Nov 17th event, told the audience that if they want to become masters of change the industry must create incentives and show those in the horse industry and those at a large what change they want to see and how they want that change to happen.
The OAC Dean’s Office is pleased to announce Erin Levesque as the new Administrative Assistant beginning on Monday, November 11.
As the OAC Dean’s Office Administrative Assistant, Levesque will provide senior-level administrative support to the Dean and will act as the first point of contact for a range of OAC’s stakeholders. She will also provide financial, human resource, and administrative support, as well as office coordination.
A new $500,000 donation, made by the Grand River Agricultural Society (GRAS), will support student engagement and recruitment into agricultural and food programs.
The gift will support the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) Student Liaison Program and is the largest commitment to the program since its inception.