AG e-news
the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences newsletter
The University is closed December 22, 2012 through January 2, 2013, re-opening on January 3 in the new year. Watch your email for the next staff.matters on January 9, 2013. Have a happy and safe holiday season!
December 13, 2012
UPCOMING EVENTS
There will be a Department of Soil Science Special Guest Seminar on Monday, December 17 from 12-1 pm, Room 346 Ellis Building. Dr. Ismail Cakmak, Professor, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, will present "Agronomic Biofortification of Food Crops with Zinc and Its Relevance for Human Nutrition". All are welcome.
Everyone is welcome to attend the Dean's Office Annual Holiday Celebration on Monday, December 17 in Room 252 Agriculture Building from 2:00 - 4:30 pm.
The Undergraduate Research Awards “Meet and Greet” Event will facilitate students at the Fort Garry campus connecting with faculty members at the Bannatyne Campus. Students should come prepared with interview questions to ask the faculty members with whom they are interested in working. Event is Wednesday, January 9, from 1:00-7:00 pm in the MPR in University Centre on the Fort Garry campus.
The fourth seminar in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Seminar Series will be held on Wednesday, January 16 at 3:30 pm in the Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building. Woo Kyun Kim, Animal Science, will be presenting "“Nutrition, Cell Biology, and Nutrigenomics in Animal Nutrition Research”". Refreshments will be served at 3:00 pm in the Atrium. Everyone is welcome to attend.
There will be a FAST online seminar on Thursday, February 7 at 12 noon entitled “What is an Excellent Source of Protein? Protein quality determination for nutrient content claims” presented by Dr. James House using the Adobe Connect software. This seminar is being presented as part of the FAST (Food advancement through science and training) program, a joint initiative between Université Laval and the University of Manitoba. To register to attend, please complete the following form by January 31, 2013: http://tinyurl.com/aboua44.
The annual Soils and Crops Conference will be held March 5-6, 2013 in Saskatoon, SK. Titles for oral and poster presentations are being accepted until December 14, 2012. See http://www.usask.ca/soilsncrops/ for more information.
STAFF AND STUDENT NEWS
The Internationally Educated Agrologists Pilot Program at the University of Manitoba celebrated two major milestones on November 30. In addition to recognizing the 2010-11 and 2011-12 graduating classes, the innovative program successfully closed its pilot phase and became an official post-baccalaureate offering at the University. Read more at http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?too=100&eve=8&sec=133&npa=29948.
Deka Treats, an innovative healthy treats company created by University of Manitoba alumni, was recognized as a top innovator at Innovate Manitoba’s inaugural Pitch’day. Deka Treats is comprised of Food Science grads Garry Tang and Nutchaphol Chaivorapongsa, and Human Nutritional Sciences grad Ocean Nenadov. They introduced their flagship product, Fro-Yo JAM frozen yogurt dessert, at the November 28 event. The judges awarded them second place ($2500), out of 27 entries. The concept for Fro-Yo JAM, a yogurt loaded with probiotics, fiber and antioxidants from fruit and chocolate, was developed in the Food Product Development course. Deka Treats is currently preparing to launch Fro-Yo JAM into local food service and retail markets.
On November 29 and 30, as part of their nutrient management consulting project, ag degree and diploma students in their soil fertility course gave group presentations to their farm customers, Cal and Connor Pitura, as well as a panel of industry agronomists. One of the panel's agronomists, Brian Hellegards, from Richardson Pioneer, was also representing the Prairie Provinces Certified Crop Advisor Program. The CCA program sponsored a pizza supper for all the students, as well as provided a $500 cheques to the group with the highest rated presentation in each class. Prize recipients were Darren Recksiedler (Beausejour), Katherine Stanley (Winnipeg), Bryce Mowat (Gladstone), and Cody Moore (Wawanesa) in the ag degree class and Austin Loewen (Winkler), Carly Owen (Carman), Nate Ort (Carman), and Kass MacLean (Carman) in the ag diploma class. See photos at http://www.umanitoba.ca/afs/events/fertility.html.
At the Canadian Weed Science Society Annual Meeting held in Winnipeg November 12-15, Caroline Halde, Ph.D. student with Martin Entz, won the 1st place Graduate Student Scholarship, and Derek Lewis, M.Sc. student with Martin Entz, placed 3rd in the poster competition. Congratulations to both of you! Also attending the conference were Rachel Evans and Kristen Podolsky, M.Sc. students with Martin Entz, Paul Gregoire, M.Sc. student with Rob Gulden, and Mary Price, Ph.D. student with Rob Gulden.
The Department of Plant Science held a successful Academic Retreat on Monday, December 10, chaired by Gary Martens. The theme was “Our Role in the Community”, based on the S.O.A.R. template, “Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results”.
Ryan Cardwell, Agribusiness and Agricutlural Economics, attended the annual meeting of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium annual meeting in San Diego, CA, December 9-11 where he presented a paper titled "Price Effects and Substitutability of Food Assistance Commodities."
Trust Beta, Food Science, attended the International Conference and Exhibition on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods 2012 held in Kailua-Kona Hawaii December 1-6. She jointly presented on "Carotenoids in endosperm, germ, and aleurone fractions of cereal grain kernels’"with Ph.D. graduate student Victoria Ndolo. Trust also participated in the Flaxseed in Health and Nutrition Symposium where she was co-moderator with Kelly Fitzpatrick of the Flax Council of Canada. She was invited to present on "Characterization of the major phenolic compounds as antioxidants in flaxseed hulls and their application in model food systems", a paper jointly authored by Meili Hao, a former M.Sc. graduate student.
Kees Plaizier, Animal Science, attended the Manitoba Dairy Conference in Winnipeg from December 5-7 and gave a presentation on "Phosphorus and Potassium Budgets on Manitoba Dairy Farms" that described the results of a study conducted by Kees, Kim Ominski and Don Flaten. The study was funded by Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, MLMMI, and MRAC.
Several Faculty members presented at the Manitoba Hog and Poultry Days conference held December 6-7 in Winnipeg. Qiang Zhang, Biosystems Engineering, presented "Design of a Mobile Mass Euthanasia System for Swine and Poultry"; Woo Kyun Kim, Animal Science presented "Identifying Nutrients / Bioactive Molecules to Improve Skeletal Integrity and Health in Poultry"; and Martin Nyachoti, Animal Science, presented "Canola Meal: How Much Can a Weaned Pig Handle".
Check out the November/December newsletter of the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment available online at http://umanitoba.ca/afs/ncle/Newsletters.html#current. Feature article is entitled "Limiting phosphorus and potassium buildup on dairy farms – What’s working in Manitoba?"
FASO held a very successful Head Shave and raised just under $1500 for Winnipeg Harvest - check out the selected images here to see the brave souls that put their hair up for bid! http://umanitoba.ca/afs/events/headshave12.html
And finally, the “Sigurdson” rink won the recent U of M curling championship and will represent U of M at the University National curling Championships. The team is made up of three Aggies and one student from Asper School of Business - Skip – Steen Sigurdson, Ag. Degree, Third – Trevor Calvert, Ag Degree (and a recent Ag. Diploma grad), Second – Ian McMillan, Asper School of Business, and Lead – Brett Sigurdson, First year Ag. Diploma student.
IN THE NEWS
Brett Sheffield, diploma student, was featured in the Sou'Wester community newspaper and the Manitoban (www.themanitoban.com/2012/11/agriculture-student-competing-for-award-in-new-york/12722/) about his journey to at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards competition in New York.
Warren Blunt, Biosystems Engineering M.Sc. student, was featured in ASABE's Resource magazine (November/December 2012) where he described why he chose his program and where he hopes it will take him. Read it at http://umanitoba.ca/afs/pdf/Resource_Warren_Blunt.pdf.
GENERAL NEWS
Call for abstracts - Students are encouraged to submit abstracts for the 4th Annual Functional Foods and Natural Health Products Graduate Student Symposium organized by the University of Manitoba graduate students in Human Nutritional Sciences, Food Science, Physiology, and Pharmacy, the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food in Health and Medicine (CCARM), and the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals (RCFFN). The symposium will be held at the CanadInns Fort Garry on March 22, 2013. Review the guidelines at www.umanitoba.ca/afs/pdf/FFNHP_Abstracts.pdf and send your abstracts to ffnhp.abstracts@gmail.com by 4:00pm CST Wednesday January 30th, 2013. Note: Symposium registration fees will be waived for all who submit an abstract, regardless of whether or not your abstract is selected for presentation.
The Oracle Calendar (also known as Corp Time) was officially retired on June 1, 2012. Since June 1, it has been left available for any users who may have needed to check historical records. As of December 21, 2012 the time has come to decommission the server that provided the Calendar. Any user wishing to keep their historical records must extract them before December 20th, 2012. Instructions on how to extract your calendar can be found at http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/email/exchange/oraclexport.html. Please note the Oracle Calendar extract should be used as a read only file for reference purposes. IST recommends that users do not attempt to import this extract into their Exchange Calendar.
The Certificate of Merit is presented by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and the School of Agriculture in recognition of leadership with agricultural organizations and outstanding service to the community at large. Two Certificates of Merit are presented to one graduate of the Agriculture Diploma program, and one to a graduate of the Agriculture Degree program. Nominations can be forwarded to Michele Rogalsky, Director, School of Agriculture at Michele_Rogalsky@umanitoba.ca before December 20, 2012. Nominations should include a letter supporting the nomination as well as a biography of the candidate highlighting their contributions.
Undergraduate Research Awards for Summer Work Experience at the University of Manitoba - Undergraduate students have the opportunity to compete for this award, which allows them to be mentored full-time with a professor of their choice for 16 weeks, to receive a $6,000 award, and to gain valuable experience in their field of interest. Last year they received over 260 applications and funded 80 students. Deadline February 15, 2013. To learn more, go to http://umanitoba.ca/experienceresearch/.
Enter the Farm & Food Discovery Centre Photo Contest - Explore the Farm & Food Discovery Centre from a different perspective—through the lens of your camera! Have a favourite thing to see or do at FFDC? Take a picture of you doing it! All photographs must be taken on the site of the Farm & Food Discovery Centre. Two categories - Adults and Children 12 & Under. Winner of each photo contest category will receive a free one year family membership to the Bruce D. Campbell Farm & Food Discovery Centre, valued at $80.00. Deadline is Friday, December 14, 2012. See complete rules and details at http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/discovery_centre/news_events/photo_contest.html.
Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program - The Government of Canada is pleased to announce that additional funding is available through the Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP) for the current 2012-2013 academic year. The additional funding is to support scholarships for graduate students conducting research from the following countries only: CARICOM: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos; Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama; or South America: Colombia, Peru. Students must arrive in Canada by March 15, 2012. Deadline: January 3, 2013. The regular competition for academic year 2013-2014 is expected to be announced in early 2013. For more information, visit: http://www.scholarships-bourses.gc.ca/scholarships-bourses/can/institutions/elap-pfla.aspx?lang=eng&view=d
AG e-news is e-mailed bi-weekly to members and friends of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Email Crystal Jorgenson with your news or get in touch with your department AG e-news rep:
- Agribusiness: Barb Hewitt 9259
- Animal Science and Entomology: Mei Ding 6125
- Biosystems Engineering: Debby Watson 6033
- Food Science: Allison Cranmer 9621
- Plant Science: Bev Godard 8563
- Soil Science: Lynda Closson 8153
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