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Funding to help make cattle data gathering easier

Partnership between Angus and Holstein association will look at sharing trait information and how to automate data management

New funding for the Canadian Angus Association and Holstein Canada will allow them to improve the data that goes into genetic evaluations and expand into new areas including carcass quality and traits that help limit the environmental impact of beef.

Although CRISPR was developed 10 years ago, global events, including the pandemic, changed public attitudes toward technical advances.

The road to acceptance for gene editing

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology offers recommendations to ensure plant breeding tech continues to benefit agriculture

Glacier FarmMedia – The rapid pace of change brought by genome editing tools has created many new opportunities for the agri-food industry, but they aren’t without challenges. Regulatory hurdles must be considered, and the tools must benefit society as well as the agriculture industry. That was the focus of a recent paper and webinar by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, which discussed the application


Rob Duncan, a canola breeder at the University of Manitoba, used genomic selection to design these canola plants. Breeders can select desired traits from across the entire canola genome.

Genome selection helps find next superstars

Sequencing the canola genome in 2014 paved the way for researchers to be more precise when developing new varieties

Glacier FarmMedia – In the 2020 Western Hockey League bantam draft, the Regina Pats had the first overall pick. They selected Connor Bedard. It was an easy pick and a good one. Bedard recorded 100 points in the 2021-22 WHL season and 143 points last year. In June, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Bedard with the

Under rainy skies on July 18, 2023 at Ag in Motion, Justine Cornelsen of Brett Young Seeds discusses soybeans’ evolving Canadian acreage base. (Glacier FarmMedia video screengrab)

At Ag in Motion: Soybean proponents still eye western expansion

Crop seen as a good add to rotations -- if conditions are right

While canola is king of the Canadian oilseed market, the same can be said of soybeans in the United States. However, the big pulse crop south of the border has made inroads in the western provinces. Manitoba has seen the biggest growth in soybean acres with well over a million planted annually in recent years,


File photo of a CFIA vehicle. (Dave Bedard photo)

Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar

Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding

Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection

“... we can use RNAi technologies as a solution to improve global food security.” – Mark Belmonte, University of Manitoba.

Genetic attack cutting edge of sclerotinia fight

Hacking messenger RNA can prevent fungal disease from propagating

Most pesticides work by getting into a cell and disrupting its working parts or pathways. By applying the right chemistry at the right time you can shut down a pathogen’s engine and bring it to a stop. But despite all the available chemistry, sclerotinia always finds a way to keep driving around untouched. Mark Belmonte,


Using gene editing to create a more compact canola with more flowers was the goal of University of Calgary Professor Marcus Samuel and his research team.

Researchers use gene editing to create breakthrough canola variety

Shorter, highly branched canola plants with more pods show the power of the cutting-edge technology

Glacier FarmMedia – Researchers have used gene editing to bring to life a new shorter, highly branched variety of canola that has more pods and is easier to harvest. “Based on my conversations with some people in the agriculture industry — including primary producers — they would love to have a crop like this,” said

England to ease regulations on gene editing in agricultural research

Britain’s Farming and Environment Minister George Eustice announced recently that regulations related to gene editing in agricultural research would be eased in England following a public consultation. Rules will now largely be aligned with conventional breeding methods for research and development into plants although scientists will still be required to notify the government of any