Dr. Bree Kelln (PhD) will be supervising Tyler Peterson when he starts his master’s degree this spring. His research will begin in the greenhouse one plant at a time before he takes his work to the field next year.

New USask researcher focuses on growing forage production

Dr. Breeanna Kelln (PhD) loves to connect the dots, even when the dots are scattered and seemingly unrelated. “I don’t fit into any box. I do interdisciplinary work and because of that, I’m connecting all these different pieces and I find the work to be super exciting,” said Kelln, assistant professor in the College of […] Read more

A steer panting excessively due to heat stress.

Warmer weather boosts ergot risk in cattle

Researchers found symptoms ranging from decreased weight gain to heat stress even though ergot levels in feed didn’t breach CFIA limits

New research has found that feedlot cattle can develop problems when fed ergot even within allowable limits. Ergot is a fungus that can grow on certain grasses and grain plants when moisture conditions are just right. It becomes a problem mainly after a wet growing season. The fungus replaces the seed head with a dark […] Read more


(Onfokus/E+/Getty Images)

Automated ag skills program developed for Saskatchewan workforce

Protein supercluster, U of S supporting non-profit agency's program

Corrected, May 24 — A national skills-building organization focused on connecting employers with “untapped” labour markets sets its webcams this summer on the automated and digital ag sectors. Not-for-profit organization Palette Skills has launched a new eight-week online program for Saskatchewan residents focused on automation and digitization in agricultural production and processing. The enrolment deadline […] Read more

(Mustafagull/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. doubling seat count at Saskatchewan vet college

Saskatoon veterinary school to take 40 B.C. students

The interprovincial cost-sharing agreement supporting the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) will now allow for twice as many students from British Columbia. The B.C. government and the U of S on Monday announced the province will now put up almost $10.7 million to double the number of provincially subsidized students to […] Read more


Researchers hope that an ocular vaccine, currently in trials, will deliver a more effective tool for managing pink eye in herds.

Eye drop vaccine for pink eye in cattle under development

Researchers hope ocular vaccine will elicit a greater local immune response

University of Saskatchewan researchers have their sights set on an innovative solution for a costly cattle disease. Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, or pink eye, remains an unpredictable, highly contagious disease that can lead to large outbreaks within herds, and current treatment options are inadequate. This prompted researchers at the university’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), […] Read more

(Saskatchewan Polytechnic video screengrab via YouTube)

Saskatchewan to incentivize rural vet techs

Remote learning, loan forgiveness on offer

Saskatchewan plans to clear a few new paths for veterinary technologists and veterinarians in training to take up work in underserved rural areas. The province on Tuesday announced the two-year registered veterinary technologist program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic will offer a distance delivery option, starting this fall, for vet techs to train in rural and remote […] Read more


VIDO-InterVac making progress on COVID-19 vaccine

VIDO-InterVac making progress on COVID-19 vaccine

There are some promising early signs as researchers at USask’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre develop a vaccine for COVID-19

University of Saskatchewan – “Early indications show that the vaccine induces an immune response, so that is positive,” said Dr. Volker Gerdts (DVM), director of Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac). “But whether the vaccine will work, we don’t know that yet. There is a lot of testing to be done.” Safety assessment […] Read more

Angela Bedard-Haughn, shown here delivering a TEDx Talk in Saskatoon in September 2019, becomes the University of Saskatchewan’s new dean of agriculture in August. (Video screengrab from Ted.com)

New dean of agriculture named for U of S

Soil science prof Angela Bedard-Haughn takes over Aug. 15

One of Western Canada’s major post-secondary ag institutions will get a new hand at the wheel this summer. The University of Saskatchewan announced Wednesday it has named soil science professor Angela Bedard-Haughn as the dean for its College of Agriculture and Bioresources for a five-year term starting Aug. 15. Raised on a family farm in […] Read more


Comment: Research 101

If you’re a regular on the winter conference circuit, you’ve likely seen your fair share of ag research presentations. Most of the regular presenters are adept at translating their research so that the rest of us can understand what they’re talking about. Still, I couldn’t help wondering whether there are a few things we should […] Read more

Canada is currently considered a bovine TB-free country, but incidences arose as recently as 2016 in Alberta, when six cases were found, and in 2018 when four cases were detected in British Columbia.

Battling bovine tuberculosis

Canadian researchers are working on TB vaccines and developing strategies to manage the disease in wild animals

Research is underway in Canada to develop a vaccine aimed at eliminating the threat of bovine tuberculosis (TB). If successful, the results will mean better health for cattle and humans around the world. “When we say bovine TB, sometimes it can also be TB that’s found in humans,” says Dr. Jeff Chen, explaining that Mycobacterium […] Read more