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The beloved honey bee is known nation-wide for its contribution to pollination and production of honey. In recent years, honey bees have also been a big buzz topic in the media, with reports that bees are dying at an alarming rate. Is the story being sensationalised? How alarmed should we be? Why are they dying? How can humans help?

The goal of this article is to provide a quick timeline of the issues, highlighting areas of controversy and elaborating on some of the main stressors that bees face today. 

A recent survey was conducted by Friends of the Earth, asking 2,000 Canadians a handful of questions about honey bees and their wild relatives. The question “How concerned are you about the health of honey bees and the conservation of wild, native bees in Canada?” showed that 68 percent of the people surveyed were either concerned or very concerned about the health of Canada’s bees.

Amy is a proud U of G student and shows it with her extensive involvement on campus. She volunteers her time through a variety of clubs including the Soil and Crop Club and the Student Federation of the Ontario Agricultural College. After university Amy hopes to continue her passion for agriculture and stay involved on her family farm.

It’s a good time to be entering Ontario’s agriculture and food industry because there are jobs galore. In fact, there are currently four jobs for every graduate of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), according to a new report. “It’s a sector that has to grow no matter what, because people have to eat,” said OAC dean Rene Van Acker. “But it’s also a sector that has a chronic challenge in attracting people.”

Whether it’s for co-op, a summer job or just for leisure, Jamie is all about insects, plants and the outdoors. She recently returned from India for a field course and has kept busy in the field this summer researching invasive insects.

The Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) is pleased to welcome Dr. Yu Na Lee as an assistant professor in agricultural business. Lee began her role on June 19th.

The television show Portlandia has a popular skit where two characters ask a server detailed questions about the chicken on the menu. What did the chicken eat? Is it local? Organic? Did it have friends? Was it happy? The server presents a folder of information on “Colin the chicken”.

Interestingly enough, animal biosciences professor Dominique Bureau says that technology isn’t far off from providing this level of detailed information on individual animals.

Mehrdad chose to travel far from his home in Mashhad, Iran to pursue his studies and interests in agriculture. Now studying crop, horticulture and turfgrass science at U of G, he enjoys spending his time outdoors and studying in Bovey Greenhouse. He plans to return to his father’s farm after graduation to put his new knowledge and skills to work for the betterment of the family business as well as his the local farming community.

The University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus will soon be home to one of the most advanced swine learning facilities in Canada. The 6,600-square-foot Swine Education Centre will open this fall at Ridgetown, offering training and education for agriculture and veterinary technology students and industry producers. The $500,000 project is funded mostly by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario, with Ontario Pork contributing 20 per cent of the budget.

The OAC Dean's Office is pleased to announce Rhonda Alger as the new Manager, Research Programs for the College. Her secondment will begin in a part-time capacity on July 24, 2017 and in a full-time capacity on August 14, 2017.