This project aims to advance local/regional food systems in Alberta, as part of a 5-year SSHRC Partnership titled Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE). Local food systems generate opportunities to capture economic value (e.g., income and employment) within local communities, and can also result in indirect economic, social and environmental benefits. However, current resources within […]

In white wines, the wine aroma plays a major role in determining wine quality and economic value. In many grape varieties cultivated in BC, the aroma makeup is built in the vineyard where key aromatics accumulate in the grapes. Irrigation and crop size adjustments are two main strategies that growers have adopted to manage fruit […]

Potato crop suffers from several devastating diseases. Genetic resistance is the best way to manage these diseases but potato is sexually quite incompatible. A novel technology called genome editing offers genetic improvement, similar to conventional breeding, where the susceptible genes in a cultivar are cut and replaced with disease resistance genes from another cultivar, with […]

The B vitamin requirements of cattle were traditionally satisfied via rumen microbial synthesis. However, the B vitamin demands of the modern high producing dairy cow now exceed the synthesis rate by rumen microbes, leading to sub-optimal milk production and efficiency. An increased understanding of dietary factors driving ruminal synthesis and use of B vitamins will […]

Food safety is a major concern and current approaches may take weeks to detect harmful bacteria that has contaminated food. This project involves the development of a rapid detection test kit to allow food processors to see if food has been contaminated by potentially harmful bacteria before the food is sent to market. The interns’ […]

Wize Monkey is currently the only maker of Coffee Leaf Tea in the world; they work in partnership with coffee producers in Nicaragua to develop alternative coffee based products. One of these is coffee leaf; a novel idea of harvesting leafs at optimal times to be used as a tea-based beverage. The leaf is harvested, […]

Emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in the Eastern US, has long been identified to acidify Nova Scotia lakes. However, due to a reduction in the use of high-sulphur fossil fuels, lakes are beginning to recover which is resulting in chemical and biological changes. In Nova Scotia, lakes are often relied on to provide […]

The purpose of this study is to gather information relating to the one-way degassing valves used within the coffee industry in order to improve upon current designs. This will be achieved through studying the opening/closing properties of commercial valves, as well as using a model system to elucidate the effects of valve components on these […]

Plant biostimulant is a new class of agricultural input that has gained importance and wide acceptance in the last few years. Acadian Seaplants Limited, a marine biotechnology company, manufactures liquid and powdered Ascophyllum nodosum extract plant biostimulants. To maintain the leadership in plant biostimulants ASL has embarked on developing new A. nodosum based biostimulatns. This […]

It is critical for consumers to be assured that Natural Health supplements being purchased commercially are of high quality and contain the ingredients as listed on labels. For regulatory agencies to make such assurances, it is important that third-party product testing be carried out to identify the presence of the appropriate botanicals and their active […]

In 2011, Statistics Canada reported that women comprised only 25% of total farmer numbers. At the same time, an aging male farmer population is causing concern that if the farming sector does not broaden its appeal among women, there will be significant economic implications for its future development. The Egg Farmers of Canada wants to […]