Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

OVC professor receives Canadian Animal Health Coalition’s Carl Block Award

An OVC professor and researcher with a distinguished career in animal health and welfare education, small animal ruminant industries and food-animal agriculture, is this year’s recipient of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) Carl Block Award.

Dr. Paula Menzies was presented the award at the Canadian Animal Health Coalition’s annual Appreciation Reception in Ottawa last week. 

“Dr. Menzies has worked tirelessly to promote the health and welfare of the Canadian sheep flock and goat industry. She has been instrumental in informing and developing Canadian agricultural policy and programs, including codes of practice, disease eradication campaigns, and flock/herd health programs”, says CAHC Chair, Jennifer MacTavish.

“The small animal ruminant industries could not have a better advocate. Both at the national and international levels, Paula is renowned as a leader in health and zoonotic issues affecting small ruminants,” says OVC parasitologist Dr. Andrew Peregrine.

Dr. Menzies received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph, and then went on to complete her Masters in Preventive Veterinary Medicine at the University of California. After graduating, Menzies worked in a large animal practice prior to joining the Ontario Veterinary College. She has a profound record of research funding, publications in refereed journals, as well as numerous invited publications, book chapters, and producer manuals.

Menzies has been a resolute evidenced-based advocate for veterinary drug and vaccine licensing in Canada. She is clearly recognized worldwide as an expert in small ruminant agriculture, and is regularly invited to present at veterinary and producer meetings locally, nationally and internationally. She is a founding member of the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management and is currently the Vice President of the International Sheep Veterinary Association, in addition to work with numerous other industry organizations.

“I want to thank all who nominated me and wrote letters of support on my behalf. My career path with the Ruminant Health Management group at the Ontario Veterinary College – working with food animal veterinary students, veterinarians and small ruminant producers, is a daily joy. To have the recognition that my contributions have been so positively received is an overwhelming honour”, says Menzies.

The Carl Block Award is named in honour of the late Carl Block, a cattleman who was dedicated to Canadian agriculture and committed to animal health. Block was the first chair of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, as well as a Director of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the inaugural Chair of CAHC, and former President of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association.

Views: 230

Comments are closed for this blog post

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

Secretary Rollins Takes Decisive Action and Shuts Down U.S. Southern Border Ports to Livestock Trade due to further Northward Spread of New World Screwworm in Mexico

Yesterday, Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) reported a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz in Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid, on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. This new northward detection comes approximately two months after northern detections were reported in Oaxaca and Veracruz, less than 700 miles away from the U.S. border, which triggered the closure of our ports to Mexican cattle, bison, and horses on May 11, 2025. While USDA announced a risk-based phased port re-opening strategy for cattle, bison, and equine from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025, this newly reported NWS case raises significant concern about the previously reported information shared by Mexican officials and severely compromises the outlined port reopening schedule of five ports from July 7-September 15. There

University of Manitoba appoints Dr. Filiz Koksel as Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein

The University of Manitoba is pleased to welcome Dr. Filiz Koksel as the new Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein, a role that continues to advance sustainable agri-food innovation and leadership in plant and animal protein research and innovation. Dr. Koksel, an associate professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, leads an interdisciplinary research program that aligns closely with Manitoba’s Protein Advantage Strategy. She holds BSc and MSc degrees in Food Engineering and earned her PhD in Food Science from the University of Manitoba.  “My vision for this Chair is to position Manitoba as a global leader in sustainable protein innovation by uniting scientific discovery with industry partnerships,” said Dr. Koksel. “Together, we will create solutions that advance food security and climate resilience for generations to come.” Dr Koksel’s current work focuses on developing novel, environmentally friendly protein ingredients from crops such

Support staff recognized for contributions to Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

Each year the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences calls for nominations of a support staff member or team who have made outstanding contributions in support of the teaching, research, service and outreach goals of the Faculty. At a celebratory barbecue to celebrate all nominees held on July 9, six individuals and four teams were recognized for their service to the Faculty. Sheldon Beichter, Technician, Carman Research Station Becky Dueck, Technician, Department of Plant Science Atanas Karamanov, Technician, Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research Minami Maeda, Technician, Department of Biosystems Engineering Finley Makila, Technician, Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research Donna Ryland, Technician, Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences Charlene Hawryluk, Wajiha Shahzad, Uldis Bourne, Jennifer St. Laurent, Dianne Dugald and Vanessa Ryplanski, Departments of Animal Science & Entomology and Glenlea Research Station Minami Maeda, Daniel Benedet an

Some crops look good and other not so good in Saskatchewan

A drive around Saskatchewan provides a wide range of crop conditions, based on rainfall received. Timely thunderstorms, combined with spring rain, are producing decent-looking crops in some locations, particularly the southeast. The poorest crops are in the southwest, but there are areas across the northern grainbelt that are much drier than normal as well. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report puts provincial cropland topsoil moisture conditions at 55 percent adequate, 33 percent short and 12 percent very short. Many fields are at relatively uniform stages, but there is some inconsistent staging which is making spray timing challenging. Areas that have received moderate to high rainfall over the last few weeks are applying fungicides to some of their pulse, cereal and oilseed crops.

AGRI-FOOD 2050 Industry Event

The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) is bringing industry leaders together to envision the future of agri-food in Ontario. The inaugural Agri-food 2050 Event will draw attendees from across the broader agri-food sector including representatives from primary agriculture, agri-business, food processing, agri-food research, and government.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service