As Canadian egg farmers transition their flocks from conventional cages to more spacious “furnished” cages, University of Guelph researchers have conducted a first-ever study on factors contributing to feather pecking in this new housing system and ways to prevent it.
The study revealed that 22 per cent of the birds in the new cages exhibited moderate or severe feather damage that was likely due to feather pecking.
Logically, we know stepping back in time isn’t possible. But at the O’Hara Mill Homestead in Madoc, Ontario, it seems like it just might be.
When walking through the rural setting of the homestead visitors can see a fully restored sawmill with a dam and covered bridge, a log house, school, carpenter and blacksmith shops, and much more. Visitors step back into the 1800’s and experience agriculture as it was.
Food science students, Karine Desrochers, Ellery Geddes and Loritta Lin alongside business student Peter Cline, were grouped together in their fourth-year capstone course, Food Product Development, where they were tasked to utilize pomace, an apple by-product, to create a consumer ready product.
After over fifty years of undergraduate teaching, Prof. Dave Hume taught his final class in the fall of 2018. He first joined the University in 1966 in the Department of Crop Science, now the Department of Plant Agriculture. In 2005 he retired but has continued to be actively involved in the department as a professor emeritus. Hume is well respected as a researcher, teacher and industry expert.
We recently chatted with Hume to reflect on his career and specifically his years of teaching. We wanted to know if he had any tips to share for other university instructors and educators.
Donald Skinner is a swine nutritionist with Molesworth Farm Supply and has been in that role since January 2013. He’s a member of the OAC Alumni Association board of directors and sat down with us recently to chat about his role, his love for the industry and highlights from his time on campus.
During his time at the University of Guelph (U of G), Riley was a busy student. He played 4 years of rugby, while also being on the Dean’s Honours list (academic average of 80% or above). In his senior undergrad years he conducted research trials on the growth of Lupin, a yellow legume, in Ontario. Today, Riley is the farm manager at Chudleigh’s in Milton and we recently chatted with him about his new role.
David Westerveld, honours agriculture student, is improving life through his leadership and desire to improve the agri-food system.
Did you know you could transform your local strip mall parking lot into a radiant community space? Or convert a side walk into an urban garden?
Introducing… the pop-up parklet.
Landscape architects are using colourful and creative ways to reclaim communities’ under-utilised urban spaces to transform them into community hubs. Large cities like Toronto need to rethink their suburban arterials to create high quality community spaces for their growing populations. Pop-up parklets are an inexpensive, easy and fun solution to this problem.
Imagine being the first person on the moon. Imagine the adrenaline, the excitement, the sensory overload. You and your colleagues have put years, decades of dedicated hard work into your joint efforts – all knowing that your footsteps would be the first of many to come.
It may seem like a daydream to most, but for Deron Caplan it’s a reality… so to speak.
Peter Hopps knew from a young age that he wanted to work for the largest dairy in Canada, and that’s exactly what he did. He achieved his goal right after graduating from the University of Guelph by working for Silverwoods Dairy. So he set himself a new goal: to work for the world’s largest chain of ice cream shops, Baskin Robbins.