Features

Goats are barnyard animals known for their playful nature and comical attitudes. In North America, they are a favourite at petting zoos, star in funny YouTube videos and are farmed for both meat and dairy. Dairy goats provide products like milk, cheese – and even ice cream. The idea of goat’s milk ice cream may seem ridiculous to some, but what started off as an “udderly” ridiculous idea has turned into a successful food business. Udderly Ridiculous is a gourmet goat milk ice cream company owned and operated by OAC ’92A alumnus

Matthew Smit is a recent graduate from the Associate Diploma in Turfgrass Management program. He now works as an assistant superintendent at the Bayview Golf & Country Club in Markham, Ontario. We recently chatted with him to learn more about his University of Guelph experience.

Precision agriculture is a broad term used by many, but its everyday applicability is less broadly understood. 

Third year food, agricultural and resource economics student Nicolas Bannon wants to change that.

Bannon recently won one of three Farms.com Precision Agriculture Scholarships, worth $2000 US, for his video entry under the theme of “environmental benefits of precision agriculture to protecting the planet.”

This summer, a team of undergraduate research assistants created the Equine Information Source (EIS) to support equine communities across Canada as they adapt to COVID-19.

“Living through this pandemic has been hard for a lot of people, and the media has done its part in documenting the hardships of those in our community, but our team wants to share the positive stories and changes that have emerged from this,” shares Amanda St-Onge, one of the students working on the project.

Funding for the creation of this article was provided by the W.S. (Stan) Young Memorial Communications Grant through the OAC Alumni Foundation.

Introduction

Like many other industries, the agri-food industry has potential to become stronger and more sustainable when information flows freely. A local food supply chain includes and relies on many players – primary producers, government agencies, food safety departments, transport and distribution links, consumers and much more.

Natalie Asaro is a companion animal nutritionist with Petcurean, a Canadian pet food brand. She graduated from the Department of Animal Biosciences with her master’s and quickly jumped into industry with ease. She recently sat down with us to talk about her role and trends in pet food and share some thoughtful advice.

A cup of 2% cow’s milk contains 15 nutrients that are essential for health, including calcium (302 mg), vitamin D (2.8 mcg) and protein (9g).

Apples are made up of carbohydrates (these help give the body energy), water and sugar. They provide a good source of fibre, vitamin C and potassium, which are all important to keep your body healthy and strong.

Pulse is the name given to the wide variety of edible seeds we grow. Pulses include dry beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas. Pulses have twice the amount of protein found in whole grain cereals like wheat, oats, barley and rice. They are also a major source of fibre which helps to keep our bodies and digestive systems healthy.  The vitamins and minerals contained in pulses also help to keep our body systems functioning well!

"Food Day Canada (to be held on Saturday, August 1st, 2020) is a chance for all Canadians to join hands (virtually) in one massive celebration in praise of our farmers and fishers; our chefs and researchers…and, above all, our home cooks."

We’re celebrating Food Day Canada this year by sharing information, recipes and fun facts for the whole family. Many of our alumni and community are balancing working from home and childcare, so we thought we’d share some fun activities to entertain everyone.