Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Collaboration a key theme of poultry research day

Connections and collaboration were a key theme during the Poultry Health Research Network (PHRN) Research Day at the University of Guelph last week.

The research day brought together representatives from government, industry and academia to provide updates on current research and prompt discussion for future collaborations.

“The whole intent was to ensure that our industry partners and our researchers, either from academia or the government agencies that work with us, have a chance to mingle and talk about their research needs and what we can do to address those research needs,” said Dr. Shayan Sharif, an immunologist in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Pathobiology and leader of the PHRN.

The University of Guelph has had a long-standing commitment to innovation in animal health and production, with one of the largest groups of poultry scientists and poultry experts in North America. The Poultry Health Research Network has been steadily expanding since its inception in 2012 and now includes more than 60 members from across the UofG campus, as well as industry and government researchers. 

Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph, addressed the group during lunch, pointing out how important it is to work together to “share resources and specific expertise to solve global problems.”

Bringing everyone together in the room is where it needs to start, he added. “We’ve got researchers from the government here, we’ve got researchers from university, we’ve got industry and that’s really the chemistry we need to drive forward.”

Photo, from left: Dr. Malcolm Campbell, VP Research, University of Guelph; Lloyd Longfield, MP for Guelph; Dr. Jeff Wichtel, Dean, OVC; Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Interim Dean, Ontario Agricultural College; Dr. Shayan Sharif, OVC.

“Here at the University of Guelph we have an unprecedented and unique gathering of expertise in support of the poultry industry,” said OVC Dean Jeff Wichtel, in addressing the group. “It involves upwards of five of our seven colleges and spans the breadth from poultry welfare right through to vaccine development and molecular basis for immunity to disease.”

During the day, UofG researchers, including MSc, PhD students and post-doctoral researchers, outlined current research in a variety of areas, including poultry welfare, biosecurity, vaccine development, nutrition, and antimicrobial resistance. Afternoon presentations with industry representatives, including pharmaceutical, feed, genetics and equipment companies, and researchers provided a forum to explore areas of mutual interest for future collaborations.

Sharif recognized funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for part of the research day and also acknowledged the Poultry Industry Council, Canadian Poultry Research Council, Livestock Research Innovation Corporation and the Ontario Veterinary College for their ongoing support for PHRN’s work.

Follow PHRN on Twitter  @PHRN_

Follow OVC on Twitter @OntVetCollege

 

Views: 163

Comments are closed for this blog post

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

CCGA Selected a Manitoba Top Employer

Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) has been recognized as one of Manitoba’s Top Employers, a competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top Employers, now celebrating 20 years of exceptional workplaces in the province. Earlier today, the results of the 2026 competition were announced online at Eluta.ca and in a special feature in the Winnipeg Free Press. “Being named one of Manitoba’s Top Employers for 2026 is a proud achievement for CCGA,” says Rick White, President & CEO at CCGA. “This honour reflects the dedication and passion of our amazing team and their commitment to our vision of Helping Farmers Succeed and advancing agriculture within the province and across the country.” To achieve recognition through Manitoba’s Top Employers, CCGA was assessed on eight criteria, including 1) workplace, 2) work atmosphere, 3) benefits, 4) vacation and time off, 5) employee communications, 6) performance management, 7) training and development, and 8) community involvement.

Farmers’ Markets Ontario names new executive director

Farmers’ Markets Ontario (FMO) has announced that Melanie Anderson, Ottawa, will assume the role of executive director, effective April 1, 2026. FMO is the only official provincially recognized organization representing more than180 farmers’ markets across the province.

Farmers again caught in geopolitical crossfire

A week ago, things were looking up for Prairie farmers. Canola prices were rising on news China would follow through on its promise to reduce its 75.9 per cent anti-dumping tariff on canola seed after Canada eased steep tariffs on imported EVs. Those canola tariffs have now dropped to 5.9 per cent, plus the nine per cent standard import tariff already in place. While not zero, tariffs of just under 15 per cent make it possible to restore trade flows and maintain China as Canada’s second-largest canola customer. As well, Canada’s prime minister was in India on another diplomatic defrosting mission with positive implications for agricultural exports. Any time the world’s largest exporter of pulse crops such as peas, lentils and chickpeas can make inroads into the world’s biggest market for those commodities, the sun shines a little brighter. While more sales to India weren’t on the agenda, the talks between Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi still shouted progress.

Pulse Market Insight #293

StatsCan Pulse Acreage Numbers (Mostly) Not Surprising The first official forecasts of 2026 seeded area were recently issued by StatsCan, with some “interesting” estimates for a few crops. For pulse crops though, most of the acreage numbers weren’t really out of line with expectations. It’s important to note that even though StatsCan’s estimates were issued in early March, they were based on a farmer survey that occurred between mid-December and mid-January. Since that survey, there have been sizable market developments that could influence acreage decisions. That said, crop rotations are largely fixed and a portion of the acreage was already decided back in December. But there is still room for some late tweaking around the margins. The most noteworthy event was the announcement by the Chinese government to scale back or eliminate import tariffs on canola seed, canola meal and peas, which injected more optimism into those markets. This development added some support for prices whic

Mustard Breakthrough Brings Yield Gains — But GM Concerns Echo Flax Triffid Crisis

Committee chair says a nearly 10% yield jump in mustard is encouraging for growers, but warns GM mustard contamination and federal research cuts could create long-term challenges for Prairie oilseeds. Big yield gains, high-stakes market risks and mounting concerns over federal research cuts dominated flax and mustard discussions at last week’s Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) meetings in Banff, Alta. “We’re seeing a real leap forward in mustard,” said Ken Jackle, chair of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oilseeds (PRCO), pointing to a new condiment mustard line expected to go forward this year. “It’s quite a yield bump. It’ll have quite a yield advantage over the existing checks.” How big a jump? Almost 10%, he said. For mustard growers, that kind of jump matters. Yield improvements in recent years have been steady, and Jackle credited Dr. Bifang Cheng’s breeding program at AAFC Saskatoon for keeping progress moving. “It’s good to see these increases in their yield

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service