Featured Blog Posts – February 2017 Archive (2)

Secretary Naig Presents 2025 Ag Leader Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Iowa Agriculture

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig this week recognized three organizations and one business that have made exceptional contributions to the continued success of Iowa agriculture. The honorees received awards during the 13th Annual Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner held on March 31 in Ankeny. The event culminated the state’s weeklong Iowa Ag Week celebration and included remarks from Gov. Kim Reynolds and a keynote address from United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. The Secretary’s Ag Leader Awards for 2025 were presented for Leadership in Community to the Iowa Pork Producers Association for their Bacon Buddies program. Nationwide Agribusiness was recognized for Leadership in Community for their grain bin rescue initiatives. Pheasants Forever received an award for Leadership in Conservation for partnering with the Department on water quality initiatives. The Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement was honored for their Leadership in Agriculture Education for supporting

Analytical chemist explores contaminant impacts on water and soil quality

 Dr. Alistair Brown joined the Department of Soil Science as Manitoba Analytical Solutions (MASS) Lab Director and Assistant Professor, on October 1, 2024. His interest in analytical chemistry was sparked during his undergraduate studies when a course on ecotoxicology shifted his career focus. Today, Alistair explores the fate and toxicity of environmental contaminants in soils and water, including UV filters, pesticides, and perfluorinated compounds. Tell us about yourself I’ve been with my wife Kendra for 23 years, and I have two sons, Asher and Jude, who are 16 and 13 respectively, and our dog Ollie who turns two tomorrow. I am a mass spectrometry method validation specialist. I got my BSc (Biochemistry) from the University of Winnipeg in 2013, and PhD (Chemistry) from the University of Manitoba in 2019. In my post-doc, I developed analytical methods for federal compliance under the Cannabis Act (2018), after which time I worked with Environment and Climate Change Canada studying

Liberals introduce plan to support ag

The Liberals have released their plan for the Canadian ag sector

Cdn. ag groups releasing federal election priorities

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the environment risk assessment required for AgriInvest to be removed

New amendments to recreational access regulation enhance land management and accessibility in Alberta

Minister of Alberta Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, signed an Order in Council to amend the Recreational Access Regulation, which oversees recreational access to grazing leases in Alberta. This amendment introduces several significant changes aimed at improving the management and accessibility of these lands. One of the key updates is the addition of a purpose statement under section 1.1, which clarifies that the regulation is designed to benefit Albertans by recognizing the economic, social, and environmental importance of agricultural disposition land. This statement sets the tone for the revised regulation, emphasizing its broader impact on the community. In a move to modernize communication methods, the requirement for a “facsimile number” as a reasonable contact method has been removed from section 4(1). This change reflects the evolving nature of communication technology and aims to streamline contact processes. The dispute resolution process has also been updated. Now, the d