Owen Roberts March 9th, 2010
A new trade show called Canada’s Outdoor Equine Expo is being launched June 4-7 at the the University of Guelph’s Arkell Research Station. The show, for all breeds and disciplines, will be hosted by Canada’s Outdoor Shows Ltd. in partnership with the research station and Equine Guelph. Read more about it here.
The expo will be a superb addition to Guelph’s incredibly diverse agriculture and food community. Good luck to Lorie and the entire expo team.
Below is the expo logo.
Owen Roberts February 26th, 2010
The 2010 Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition takes place November 6 at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario. The topics, which are always highly awaited, have now been announced by the competition’s board of directors:
- The profile and impact of a Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame member
- Who will feed the world in 50 years?
- What is the biggest challenge in agriculture today?
- Exploring First Nations agriculture in Canada
- What are the biggest events in Canadian agricultural history?
My University of Guelph agricultural communications class takes part in the competition. I’ll look forward to seeing how the students respond to these stimulating topics in the fall. Top marks to CYSA board member Pam Emmott for her efforts in compiling the list of topics.
One of the biggest events in Canadian agricultural history was surely the discovery of BSE in Canada. Former federal agriculture and agri-food minister Lyle Vanclief, pictured below, and others worked overtime — and then some — to put the matter in context for Canadians (fact: it was a lone cow, and it didn’t enter the food chain). As a result, beef consumption in post-BSE Canada actually rose, as Canadians showed their support for the sector.
Owen Roberts February 26th, 2010
I had the pleasure of working with CBC’s Jill Dempsey a few years ago when I moderated a reading of the Christmas Carol, at the Dublin Street United Church. Now, Jill’s back in Guelph as the journalist-and-radio-host addition to the University of Guelph’s “human library.” The university says a human library is designed to give people a chance “to meet face to face with individuals who belong to groups that often face challenges due to broad generalizations, stereotyping, misunderstanding and even marginalization.” Certainly journalists fit at least one of those categories.
The human library is open March 4-5. Click here for more details.
Below is a photo of Jill, from the CBC website.
Owen Roberts February 19th, 2010
The Enviropig, the first transgenic animal created to address phosphorus loading on the environment, is getting the green light from Environment Canada. Global TV has a story today on its website saying Ottawa has determined the pigs, developed back in 1999 at the University of Guelph, are not toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and says the official declaration will be made on Saturday. Below is a graphic from the University of Guelph showing how the Enviropig works.
Owen Roberts February 16th, 2010
My daughter Kate’s significant other, Kitchener-Waterloo Record features reporter Greg Mercer, is in Haiti documenting the work of a group of doctors and nurses from St. Mary’s General Hospital. They’re helping at the Hopital Universitaire La Paix in Delmas, one of many hospitals in Port au Prince that have been overwhelmed with injured patients since the January 12 earthquake. Follow his blog here.
Greg photographed a Haitian health care worker (below) assigning records to emergency patients.
