Impact Stories

Dr. Steve Loewen always has his sights on traits that tomatoes will need in the future. After almost four decades as a processing tomato plant breeder, his curiosity and focus on improving the odds for this segment of Ontario agriculture is still what gets him out the door every day. 

Loewen’s work supports the processing tomato sector, which harvested over 670,000 tonnes of tomatoes in 2025 and has a gross farm value of nearly $100 million.

Dr. Bonnie Mallard's award-winning research is high-immune response (HIR™) technology, a test to find animals that can pass down their naturally strong immune response genetics. The technology, licensed to Semex in Guelph, has led to the creation of Immunity+® semen.

Threats to Ontario’s food supply from tariffs, climate change, cyberattacks and diseases have farmers and agribusinesses on their toes. Through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, the Government of Ontario, Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario and the University of Guelph come together to protect Ontario’s food system and make it stronger, safer and more sustainable.

For today's conscientious food lovers, knowing where food is grown can be as important as appreciating how it tastes. But what about being aware of where that food was first developed - before it every sprouted in a field? This Toque magazine story brings together many U of G breeding successes, starting in 1898. Read it the latest issue: Seeding the Future: About the University of Guelph's Legacy of Crop Excellence

Sometimes innovation isn’t fast and flashy: sometimes it’s slow and dirty.

It's Ontario Agriculture Week, and at the University of Guelph—Canada's Food University—we're celebrating fresh, homegrown food and the farmers, food industry workers and agri-businesses who bring it to our plates.

The fundamental starting point for growing healthy food is healthy soil. With long-term investment and expertise, soil grows productive plants, protects the environment and builds economic sustainability for producers.

The venture between University of Guelph researcher Dr. Joshua Nasielski and Ontario-based ag-tech company Susterre Technologies Inc. was facilitated by the University’s Research Innovation Office. It’s a compelling example of how academic-private partnerships can drive innovation while reducing risk for farmers.

Read the story: Cultivating Innovation—How Academic-Private Partnerships Are De-Risking Agri-Tech for Ontario Farmers

Honeybees are called “social” creatures, and the same could be said for the community that research technician Paul Kelly cultivates at the University of Guelph’s Honey Bee Research Centre (HBRC).

Kelly, an Alliance-funded research technician and a 37-year veteran of the HBRC, ensures that investigators have the hives they need to conduct future-focused pollinator research – a lifeline to our local food supply.

More than a decade of funding from the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance has helped to fuel the success of this revolutionary technology, developed by Dr. Keith Warriner in the University of Guelph's Department of Food Science.

The gas-phase hydroxyl radical technology is a sustainable solution that kills 99.99 per cent of food pathogens, such as E. coli, Salmonella, and norovirus, in less than 30 seconds. 

OAC Plant Agriculture PhD graduate Deus Mugabe's path to becoming a research leader in agricultural science was shaped by a deep-rooted passion for improving global food security. Raised amidst the challenges of food insecurity in Rwanda, Mugabe's early experiences instilled in him a determination to use science to transform agriculture for the better.

Two U of G researchers contributed data to the Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (D.R.I.V.E.S.) Project, an initiative conducted by 30 scientists from across Canada, the United States and Mexico, in which different crop rotations and individual component crops within rotations were analyzed along with multiple metrics, soil types and cropping systems.