News

The television show Portlandia has a popular skit where two characters ask a server detailed questions about the chicken on the menu. What did the chicken eat? Is it local? Organic? Did it have friends? Was it happy? The server presents a folder of information on “Colin the chicken”.

Interestingly enough, animal biosciences professor Dominique Bureau says that technology isn’t far off from providing this level of detailed information on individual animals.

Mehrdad chose to travel far from his home in Mashhad, Iran to pursue his studies and interests in agriculture. Now studying crop, horticulture and turfgrass science at U of G, he enjoys spending his time outdoors and studying in Bovey Greenhouse. He plans to return to his father’s farm after graduation to put his new knowledge and skills to work for the betterment of the family business as well as his the local farming community.

The University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus will soon be home to one of the most advanced swine learning facilities in Canada. The 6,600-square-foot Swine Education Centre will open this fall at Ridgetown, offering training and education for agriculture and veterinary technology students and industry producers. The $500,000 project is funded mostly by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, with Ontario Pork contributing 20 per cent of the budget.

The OAC Dean's Office is pleased to announce Rhonda Alger as the new Manager, Research Programs for the College. Her secondment will begin in a part-time capacity on July 24, 2017 and in a full-time capacity on August 14, 2017.

Horse enthusiast Julia Alebrand is a third year Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management (BBRM)- Equine Management student. She loves to involve herself in any and all things horse related, especially planning equine events. Julia hopes to further her education with a master’s when she finishes her undergrad.    

Third year landscape architecture student Mark Gordon has a passion for the outdoors. When he isn’t collaborating in the Landscape Architecture studio, Mark spends his free time at the Arboretum or Preservation Park. After university, he hopes to continue his passion for planning to enhance neighbourhoods and improve the ecological function of green spaces.

Global Animal Partnership (GAP) has provided a grant-in-aid of research to the University of Guelph for a two-year research project that will determine and evaluate the parameters necessary for assessing the animal welfare needs of different genetic strains of chicken breeds.

OAC master’s student Shanthanu Krishnakumarhas become the first competitor in the national 3-Minute Thesis contest to win both the annual competition’s top prize and its People’s Choice Award. The competition, now in its fifth year, requires students to explain their work and its relevance within three minutes using only one slide.

The OAC Dean's Office is pleased to announce Leigh West as the new Manager, Recruitment for the College. She will begin in this two-year secondment on July 3, 2017.

Leigh transitions to this position from her role as Manager, Research and Graduate Operations with the college, a position which she has held since 2013. In this role, Leigh has been responsible for managing and supporting the college’s research enterprise as well as supporting the growth of the college’s graduate programs.

The University of Guelph is introducing a new certificate in organic agriculture that will be available to all undergraduate students in fall 2018, encouraging broader student enrollment in organic and alternative agriculture courses.

“There is a strong demand from our students who are interested in supplementing their degree with specialized learning in organic agriculture,” explains Rene Van Acker, dean of the Ontario Agricultural College of the University of Guelph.