(Video screengrab from University of Guelph/OAC video via YouTube)

OAC to offer new master’s program in plant agriculture

New program would run alongside research-based degrees

Ontario Agricultural College is seeking approvals to offer a new master’s degree in plant agriculture, which would designate plant science professionals operating at a grad-school level but not on the traditional research-based path. OAC said Wednesday its proposed new “master of plant agriculture” (MPAg) program would allow recent graduates and professionals to “quickly upgrade education […] Read more

The Ontario Agricultural College’s Beef Science Club at Soderglen Ranches, one of the stops on the group’s “Alberta Bound” tour.

Alberta Bound: University of Guelph students tour the West

The student group’s event co-ordinator tells us how they organized a tour of Alberta ag businesses

The idea of the Alberta Bound Beef trip surfaced two years ago in the thick of the pandemic. A few members of the Ontario Agricultural College Beef Science Club were chatting about how Zoom calls and online classes aren’t substitutes for hands-on learning and being face-to-face. They joked about travelling to places they couldn’t go […] Read more


Research organizations have adapted to cuts to extension by partnering with other agencies, or adopting different innovative practices, to bring knowledge from the lab or research farm to working farms and ranches.

Getting livestock research into practice

With the decline in government extension, other organizations have shifted gears to try to cover some of that ground

The large gaps left when governments stopped providing a full range of on-the-ground advisory services to farmers are slowly getting filled with useful and accessible resources, according to industry experts.  “In the 1990s in Ontario, the Ministry of Agriculture cut those services and it meant different sectors reacted differently with no defined process,” says Mike […] Read more

The University of Guelph-Ontario Ag College Beef Club at the Waldron Ranch.

University of Guelph students tour the West

Purely Purebred, news from the October 2022 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

The University of Guelph-Ontario Ag College (OAC) Beef Club had quite a tour in Alberta. Arriving September 21, they hit the ground running with their first stop at Irvine’s Western Wear. From there the Canadian Angus Association hosted the tour Thursday morning with speakers from Canada Beef and the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, Canadian […] Read more


Checking cattle at a feedlot. Recent research suggests that controlling inflammation may reduce cases of bacterial pneumonia.

Research may yield new approaches to managing pneumonia in cattle

Researchers are now focusing on inflammation’s role in pneumonia cases in cattle

University of Guelph research could lead to revolutionary new approaches to preventing pneumonia in beef cattle while reducing the use of antibiotics. Dr. Jeff Caswell, a professor in the pathobiology department at the Ontario Veterinary College, says the traditional thinking has been that risk factors such as weaning, transportation, inclement weather, castration and viral infections […] Read more

Anita Stewart. (FoodDayCanada.ca)

Canadian food laureate Anita Stewart, 73

Guelph flags to be lowered for Food Day Canada founder

Flags at the University of Guelph are to be flown at half-mast Tuesday in honour of Canadian food advocate Anita Stewart, who died Thursday in hospital in Hamilton. Stewart, 73, was the first person in the world to be conferred with the title of “food laureate,” as she was named by the University of Guelph […] Read more


Setting a calf on a healthy path to the feedlot starts with the cow, says Dr. Greg Dimmers.

Feedlot health starts with the cow

While the industry has gotten better at managing disease, cow-calf producers can reduce even more health issues in feedlot cattle

Some of the biggest health challenges in finishing cattle can be minimized or even prevented long before the animals arrive at the feedlot. In fact, calves can be set on a path to better health before birth, according to veterinarian Dr. Greg Dimmers of Metzger Veterinary Services in Linwood, Ont., to help address what he […] Read more

By identifying the range of production systems used across the country, Canfax aims to create better benchmarks for cow-calf producers in all provinces.

Nature vs. Nurture in animal performance

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Nothing is ever as simple as we think it is or wish it was. We’ve known for centuries that an animal’s performance, health, behaviour and other traits depend on a combination of their genetics and their environment. The genetics are inherited from their parents. Environmental influences are not inherited. Environments might be similar across generations […] Read more


James and Joan McKinlay at their farm in northeastern Grey County, about two and a half hours northwest of Toronto.

Ontario beef producers help young people get into farming

James and Joan McKinlay recognize the importance of setting up the next generation to succeed

James and Joan McKinlay are passionate about beef farming. They also believe strongly in the next generation and in the role established producers can play in getting young farmers started in the industry. It’s a philosophy they’ve put into practice on their own farm, working with their son and four other young people to start […] Read more

Researchers are working on a test to identify Angus genetics better able to battle bovine respiratory disease.

Immune test in the works to fight bovine respiratory disease

Research: News Roundup from the April 2019 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Several cattle industry organizations are collaborating on a project that could help fight bovine respiratory disease, Farmtario reports. The high-immune test for Angus cattle will identify genetics that are better able to fight the disease. Semex, Angus Genetics Inc., the Canadian Angus Association and the University of Guelph are working together on the project. Genome […] Read more