Today is World Soil Day, which raises awareness of the importance of soil health and sustainable soil management.
Soil health and sustainable soil management are an ongoing focus for several Alliance-funded researchers whose conservation work has become increasingly important in countering the risk of climate change impacts while growing enough food for the planet.
In this Alliance-funded research, Dr. Adam Gillespie and team developed a tool that creates a soil "fingerprint" using infrared spectroscopy.
The technology could replace traditional time-consuming and costly methods that involve extracting samples and sending them to a lab to be analyzed.
The tool is being tested on research farms. The fingerprint also provides database-informed, regional-specific soil management recommendations for producers.
The ongoing testing program is funded in part by the Alliance, and is led by U of G's Dr. David Kelton, Dairy Farmers of Ontario Research Chair in Dairy Cattle Health and professor in the Ontario Veterinary College's Department of Population Medicine.
Read the full article on the Farmtario website.
The Ontario government and the University of Guelph share a commitment to the long-term success of farmers, processors and the entire agri-food sector. Our collaboration makes helps solve real-world challenges and drives impact, from research to practical application.
Watch on YouTube: University of Guelph Partnerships Fuel the Future of Food.
In a study of calves at the Ontario Dairy Research Centre, Dr. Charlotte Winder and PhD candidate Cassandra Reedman, both in the Department of Population Medicine, found that administering local anesthesia with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) pain relievers is the most beneficial combination to reduce pain caused by caustic paste disbudding in young calves.
This virtual centre is a not-for-profit organization designed to support farmers with a research-to-action approach to mental health. Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton and Dr. Briana Hagen, co-developers of the mental health literacy program In the Know and recent winners of a U of G Innovation of the Year award, are on the Centre's roster.
Vertical farms are important for our food future, especially if they use renewable energy. Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Scholars and Arrell Scholars paired up with GoodLeaf Farms to study its environmental impact and look closer at how energy use impacts the sustainability of vertical farming.
TopCropManager.com looked to two U of G professors for advice on breeding and growing adzuki beans in Ontario. There are not enough of the beans to meet demand from Japan and South Korea, according to the article.
Dr. K. Peter Pauls, professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture, leads an adzuki bean-breeding program; the goals of which include devleoping improved varieties for Canadian producers that fetch premium prices in international markets.
The exhibit also highlighted U of G's partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Visitors took in information about food history, collaborations, food security, climate change and soil health.
Protecting human and poultry health is the goal of University of Guelph researchers developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to predict early outbreaks of avian influenza.
Dr. Rozita Dara, a professor in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, is working with Dr. Shayan Sharif and Dr. Zvonimir Poljak, professors in the Ontario Veterinary College, and postdoctoral scholar Samira Yousefinaghani to build a surveillance system that can predict the occurrence of avian influenza in a region.