CFFO Blog's Blog – April 2011 Archive (5)

Rimbey livestock auctioneer crowned world champion

Dean Edge, of Rimbey, Alberta, has become only the third Canadian to win the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship since its inception in 1963. In his acceptance speech, he credited his success to the support of his family — wife Jeanine, and children Erin, Lexie, and Lane. He also acknowledged his fellow competitors at the championship, held in Dunlap, Iowa, emphasizing the collective effort behind his victory. “This world championship might be connected to my name for the next year, but it’s not mine,” Edge remarked. “It’s ours. I’m going to be working for us for the next year to the very best of my ability to get out there and promote what we do.” As the reigning champion, Edge will spend the next year traveling in the custom-wrapped World livestock Auctioneer Championship pickup, showcasing his talents and promoting the livestock industry. “I’ve always loved the travel, and especially the chance to see so many livestock auction markets and learn how they do things,” said Edge

USask researchers discover genes that protect wheat from disease

To get ahead of these pathogens, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers like Dr. Valentyna Klymiuk (PhD) and Dr. Curtis Pozniak (PhD) are studying wild wheat varieties that carry resistance to these harmful pathogens. This led them to discover something they’ve never encountered before — a unique pair of genes that work together to protect against disease. To support its variety development program, USask’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) has been diving back into the gene pool of wheat and screening its wild relatives for useful traits that can be effectively deployed in new wheat cultivars. Wild wheat has not been domesticated, so it cannot be used directly in breeding, but it contains useful diversity to respond to environmental threats. This makes it ideal for learning new methods of crop resistance. Research at the CDC focuses on improving crop varieties. By integrating basic research into crop breeding, the CDC translates scientific discoveries into new high yielding var

USask races past campaign goal to raise close to $571 million

“This campaign is already transforming our university, and its impact will be felt for generations to come,” said USask President Peter Stoicheff. “USask helps drive the economy of our province and our nation. Thanks to this highly successful campaign, our students will see expanded opportunities to make a difference in Saskatchewan and around the globe.” From individual donations to large corporate gifts from organizations such as Nutrien and Cameco, the Be What the World Needs campaign saw thousands of USask community members, alumni and supporters from around the globe come together to advance four major areas: critical research, Indigenous achievement, student success, and creation of visionary spaces for innovative research, teaching and learning. In total, more than 100,000 gifts were made to the decade-long campaign from more than ?27,000 companies, foundations, and individuals. There were more than 30,000 gifts to enhance the student experience through scholarships, bursari

Bill C-202 divides Canadian ag

Bill C-202 is a show of protectionism, some groups say

Environmental monitoring of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in Alberta with a focus on transmission to commercial poultry operations

Why is this research important for Alberta ag? The current highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in Alberta has impacted 32 poultry flocks including 20 commercial poultry operations leading to depopulation of close to one million birds. The HPAI outbreak is linked to H5N1 sub type, and it has been attributed to death of migratory and non-migratory wild birds as well as some mammals. Although the outbreak impacted poultry operations severely during the winter and spring, the number of cases has declined during the summer with only one case recorded during July. It is expected that cases will increase with the cooler temperatures during the fall and winter. However, it is not clear that original mode of transmission of HPAIC to the impacted poultry operations as to contamination of water and air by migratory wild birds or farm to farm spread. It is also not clear if non-migratory birds living at the vicinity of poultry operations are also playing a role in viral transmission