Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Day 2: A day at the Farm

As the chariot pulled away from the Crown Plaza in Montreal this group of AALP participants knew they were in for an info-packed day starting off with McGill MacDonald Campus.

We all have our favourite post-secondary campus, but many participants on the bus were excited to visit McGill for the first time – especially the Macdonald Campus where their primary dairy research is conducted. Nestled on 250 hectares of farm land, this campus is home to 2,000 students in both diploma and university degree programs. The campus is designed for students to obtain practical experience in their degree programs. Elsa Vasseur, Assistant Professor in the Animal Science Department, described one of their main research programs, Proaction, which is working to determine what appropriate housing is required for a cow’s maximum comfort, longevity and locomotion.

Chantal Charette, Dairy Unit Manager of the MacDonald Campus Farm, provided the class with the background of the dairy barn that consists of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jerseys with 92 kg of quota total. What's her secret to success? Immunityplus, a reproductive typing offered by Semex allows you to select sires that have the highest health scores to ensure calves are born healthy and stay healthy.

Switching gears to biotechnology, Mark Lefsrud, Associate Professor who leads the Biomass Production Laboratory, discussed the many projects that McGill has been working on. One of the main research projects is to help greenhouse operators maximize efficiency both in North America as well as the Caribbean. Who knew that in Cuba those veggies have been picked for three weeks before they arrive? McGill wants to help developing countries be able to grow their own food through their greenhouse work.

McGill Feeding McGill is a great program where all the food produced on the farms goes into the cafeteria on the main campus. This is done in part by Valerie Gravel, Assistant Professor in the Plant Science Department, who works with strawberries and other horticulture products to determine stresses to the plant and how to mitigate these to improve yield.

After learning about the main research pillars of McGill, the class loaded the bus, stopped for a quick bite to eat and continued on to the L'Union des producteurs agricoles du Quebec (UPA) in downtown Montreal.

Quebec has a unique situation when it comes to the animal that supplies us with bacon. Quebec is the only province where the Éleveurs de porcs du Québec (the pork board) negotiates the price for both the producer and the buyer. The board also assumes income stability risk to ensure that the grower is making more money than their cost. As Gaëlle Leruste, Communications Advisor with Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec, explained, this is a unique method of ensuring price protection and is a key factor for continuing growth in the pork industry.

Communications Director of UPA, Patrick Lareau, closed off the day with a few facts that makes Quebec farming unique:

  • 3 million acres of agriculture
  • 29,437 producers with an average of 279 acres per farm 
  • 12% of Quebec population works in agriculture
  • 64 dairy cattle/herd
  • 1 in 3 young farmers run his or her own business 
  • Most maple syrup is from Quebec: 71% of world’s production 
  • The large Christmas tree in downtown New York comes from a Quebec tree farm

As the class departed the UPA office, our trusty bus driver Nancy gave us a tour of downtown Montreal. This allowed us the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of the city as well as experience the Montreal International Jazz Festival in the downtown core.

-Class 16

Views: 357

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

Which Farmer’s Almanac Is Going Out of Print?

it’s not the iconic yellow-covered Old Farmer’s Almanac that’s closing its doors. The Farmers’ Almanac, based in Lewiston, Maine, will publish its final edition in 2026, marking the end of a 208-year legacy.

USask horticulture student honours peace by growing poppies

The display is a project of the heart for University of Saskatchewan (USask) horticulture student Corporal Fikret Ükis, who has been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces since 2018. “I thought it would be meaningful to have real poppies growing here on campus. They’re such a powerful symbol; simple, but deeply emotional,” Ükis said. It has been more than 100 years since the First World War and 80 years since the Second World War, and the world continues to see terrible conflict, he noted. “People sometimes forget that the freedoms and sovereignty we enjoy today were paid for by the sacrifices of those men and women,” he said. “It’s sad to see how fragile peace can be. The Ukrainians know this better than anyone right now; their sovereignty is currently under threat. Here in Canada, we take peace for granted, and we’ve forgotten how hard people had to fight during the First and Second World Wars, and how hard we still have to fight, to protect it.” Ükis said the poppy is a delicate

USask graduate investigates gene to improve the health of barley

Feeding the world requires healthy crops that can resist plant disease. Barley is the world’s fourth largest cereal crop in terms of production. This important crop is at risk worldwide from the fungus, Ustilago hordei, which infects barley with a disease called covered smut. This fungal infection starts on the surface of barley seed and causes the kernels of the barley plant to be replaced by masses of brown spores. Fan Yang’s research sought to identify a gene that can prevent barley yield loss from covered smut and thus improve economic returns to farmers. “My research focused on identifying a resistance gene, called RuhQ, within the barley genome that provides long-term resistance to covered smut,” said Yang. “I investigated how the pathogen infects barley seedlings and reduces grain quality and yield. I also explored which defense pathways are activated by the RuhQ gene to help barley defend against covered smut.” In July 2025, she successfully defended her PhD thesis, A study

Pulse Market Insight #286

Another Headwind for Yellow Peas The first quarter of the 2025/26 marketing year is now over and the pea market’s performance can be described as good, considering China’s 100% tariffs on Canadian pea imports, but not great. According to the CGC, farmers’ pea deliveries through 13 weeks were 1.13 mln tonnes, below the 5-year average of 1.21 mln and last year at 1.37 mln tonnes. Licensed pea exports totaled 865,000 tonnes, slightly above the 5-year average of 855,000, but trailing last year’s strong pace of 1.05 mln tonnes. In a “normal” year, this movement of peas wouldn’t be a big concern but the 2025 pea crop is nearly a million tonnes larger than last year, including 700,000 tonnes more yellow peas. Canada needs to export more peas, not less, in 2025/26 to avoid a large buildup in ending stocks. Unfortunately, the Indian government’s recent announcement of a 30% import tariff on yellow peas (from all origins), effective November 1, won’t help the situation. Several months ago, In

FVGC executive director plans to retire

The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) president, Marcus Janzen, has announced that Massimo Bergamini will begin a transition from his role as executive director as he moves toward retirement. The Board is grateful for his leadership and for the organizational achievements made during his tenure.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service