UNews - RDAR

Agriculture research, innovation and training earns RDAR support, extending three important faculty positions

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 15:37:01 +0000

A trio of term-limited ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences have secured nearly $700,000 in funding support from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) that will allow their important agriculture portfolios to continue through 2027-28.

Drs. Michele Konschuh, Shelley Hoover and Kim Stanford, who originally joined ULethbridge as part of the Agriculture Research Transition Project in 2020, have enhanced the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s capacity in agricultural research, innovation and training while expanding partnerships with the Alberta agri-food industry. Extending their faculty positions for an additional five years opens even greater opportunities for their respective research programs.

“The impact of their work has been substantial both on and off campus,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge’s vice-president (research). “With this five-year extension, it allows them the opportunity to take on longer-term research projects, apply for federal funding programs and train more students for our region and beyond. This arrangement also ensures that we continue to grow the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s partnerships with local and global agri-food industries.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ officials, faculty members and RDAR representatives were on hand for the funding announcement.

Working out of Science Commons, one of the most advanced transdisciplinary science facilities of its kind in Canada, Konschuh, Hoover and Stanford will utilize the RDAR support to enhance research programs that are closely aligned with the challenges and needs of local producers.

“RDAR is pleased to support the good work that these scientists are pursuing,” says RDAR Chair, Dr. David Chalack. “We cannot see great results for Alberta’s producers without investing in the people and building capacity for those who are driving positive change for the province. These scientists are leaders in their field, managing research and extension programs that are producer-led, outcome-driven, and industry-supported, filling a much-needed gap in the agri-food research ecosystem.”

One goal of Konschuh’s research is to improve the sustainability of crops given a changing climate. Her work in this area can help evaluate new crops and lead to the selection of new varieties. Current crops like potatoes, sugar beets and seed canola will remain as research focuses. This research also has implications for regenerative agricultural practices such as no-till farming, planting cover crops and rotational grazing.

“I’ll be working with local producers and agri-businesses like the Potato Growers of Alberta, Farming Smarter and Galaxy Ag Ventures,” says Konschuh. “It’s important to identify the priorities of crop producers and help them transition to more sustainable practices while reducing risks associated with climate change.”

RDAR Chair David Chalack speaks with ULethbridge President and Vice-chancellor Dr. Digvir Jayas.

Stanford continues to build on her research that investigates cattle feed and food-borne pathogens. She’s examining ways to improve the detection and control of pathogenic E. coli, as well as building knowledge of the factors that can lead to toxicity in cattle feed.

“Along with minimizing the negative effects on animals, my research aims to identify sustainable feed sources for producers, such as creating silage using food waste from grocery stores,” says Stanford.

Her research also examines pathogens that can transfer from cattle to humans or vice-versa to improve detection and prevent future outbreaks of foodborne disease. Several partners, such as Alberta Beef Producers, Beef Cattle Research Council, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development and individual producers and feedlot owners, are involved to ensure the research supports the beef industry.

Whether it’s producing feed for cattle or bountiful crops, pollinating insects are an essential component. Hoover’s research into honeybees covers the gamut from nutrition, parasites and viruses to their management and economics. Hoover concentrates on honeybee health, commercial beekeeping and their work as pollinators. Her work aligns with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission’s emphasis on the health of honeybees, the honey industry and pollination.

“My work with various partners, locally, nationally and internationally, is aimed at ensuring our honeybees are healthy, not only for their important role as pollinators but also as producers of honey,” says Hoover.

RDAR is an arm’s length, non-profit corporation designed to enable Alberta producers to determine priorities and lead agriculture research. By collaborating with scientists and researchers, RDAR taps into existing talent and funds ideas generated by innovators to push the boundaries of Alberta’s agriculture potential.

Could rice be the next crop in southern Alberta?

caroline.zentner — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 20:33:26 +0000

Probably the last place one could imagine growing rice would be southern Alberta, but, as one ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher is finding out, it may not be outside the realm of possibility.

Dr. Michele Konschuh, a research associate in the Department of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with Galaxy Ag Ventures and Farming Smarter Association, is examining the potential for rice to be a value-added crop in this region. Rice is a gluten-free food staple that provides valuable byproducts like rice starch, protein and oil. Galaxy Ag Ventures is a Calgary-based company involved in strategic investment and product development in agri-foods. Farming Smarter is a farmer-led, not-for-profit organization based in Lethbridge dedicated to driving innovation at the farm level.

“One of the big questions is how you are going to grow rice in Alberta,” says Konschuh. “I wasn’t all that confident when they first approached me, but they did bring some technology from Korea called seed film cultivation (SFC). It’s essentially a biodegradable plastic layer that they attach the seed to and lay over moist soil.”

A rice plant with panicles (flower clusters) grows in the Ulethbridge greenhouse.

Konschuh explains the SFC helps warm the soil and prevent moisture loss, as well as prevent weeds from taking root. Alberta’s climate tends to be cold and dry with a short growing season. However, as rice is grown in some mountainous regions, some varieties are adapted to lower temperatures and shorter seasons. Also problematic are Alberta’s long summer days because rice likes shorter days to flower. And irrigation will be needed; Konschuh says rice needs about the same amount of water as a potato crop.

After a short-term pilot project this spring, the experiment has now moved to the field. With Galaxy Ag providing the funding and Farmer Smarter the land, technological expertise and equipment, a ULethbridge undergraduate student funded through Mitacs was hired to work on the project. Three methods for planting were used: the SFC technique, transplanting plants grown in a greenhouse, and direct seeding. The researchers also opted to try two types of irrigation: overhead pivot and subsurface drip.

Technicians plant rice in the field.

“All three methods of planting have been successful so far,” she says. “What we don’t know is if we can get them all the way to rice seed production and maturation by fall. This is really early steps and the nice thing is that both B.C. and Ontario have successfully grown rice. So, we know rice can grow in Canada; what we don’t know is if rice can grow in Alberta because our conditions are a little bit different.”

Blackleg of potato focus of second project

Konschuh is also continuing her research into blackleg of potato. Blackleg, one of numerous seed-borne diseases that have been identified in potato production around the world, is caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya bacteria.

Konschuh and her collaborators, Drs. Larry Kawchuk and Jonathan Neilson from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, are using a multi-pronged approach that includes an information campaign outlining best practices for seed growers and sharing findings from their research.

The researchers are also investigating rapid diagnostic tools available on the market and possibly developing new additional tools to detect blackleg early. Such tools would allow producers to obtain a diagnosis when they see a suspicious plant in the field instead of having to wait for laboratory results. In addition, the scientists are examining the potential of biocontrol agents — bacteriophages and endophytes.

The group has received additional funding from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) to expand the work to include genetic analysis of the pathogen causing blackleg and different potato varieties to determine if there’s a relationship between susceptibility in the host and aggressiveness in the pathogen.

“Research provides valuable information to producers and ag businesses to support their decision making,” says Konschuh. “Research also helps reduce risks associated with changes in agricultural practices.”

Researchers earn RDAR support to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease

trevor.kenney — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 20:49:19 +0000

Researchers in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Southern Alberta Genome Science Centre (SAGSC) and its bioinformatics core are collaborating with scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) — the most prominent feedlot cattle disease in North America — that is responsible for an estimated financial burden of $3 billion annually.

BRD is responsible for an estimated financial burden of $3 billion annually.

The supported project is led by ULethbridge associate professor Dr. Athan Zovoilis and Dr. Tim McAllister, a principal research scientist at AAFC. Zovoilis, SAGSC director and Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, Dr. Angeliki Pantazi (SAGSC scientific officer) and Dr. Eric Merzetti (BioNet program manager) are working with McAllister’s team and other scientists at AAFC to advance a genomic-based diagnostic pipeline for BRD, based on Alberta herd-specific pathogens, that will increase the precision of antimicrobial use in the provincial cattle industry.

“To date, no tool exists for the identification of BRD pathogens on a broad scale for Alberta cattle producers and there is a need for province-wide architecture to detect and characterize pathogens of interest in BRD — both in terms of virulence and antimicrobial resistance,” says Zovoilis. “Our labs at SAGSC and AAFC in Lethbridge have already sequenced, analyzed, and characterized a significant number of BRD bacterial isolates.”

Alberta is home to more than 18,000 cattle producers with an estimated 4.5 million cattle, making up 40.4 per cent of Canada’s herd (estimated July 2020). With the highest cattle population in the country and a heavy reliance of Alberta’s economy on exported beef, cattle mortalities pose a significant economic and financial hardship to the province. BRD is responsible for 65-80 per cent of total feedlot morbidities and 45-75 per cent of mortalities.

BRD pathogens are varied with potential origins in multiple bacterial families. Proper treatment of BRD requires pathogen identification. To further add to the difficulty of treatment, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is of significant concern in these cattle and many of the identified BRD pathogens house resistance to traditional antimicrobial agents used in livestock settings.

“We will take input data from samples sequenced by our next generation sequencing platforms and be able to produce detailed information on BRD pathogens, including relevant AMR,” says Zovoilis. “This data will then allow for the precision use of antimicrobial agents, providing better outcomes for cattle and less likelihood of AMR development in the present bacteria.”

The project, A Comprehensive Sequencing and Bioinformatics analysis Pipeline for Bovine Respiratory Disease Pathogens in Alberta Beef Cattle, is supported by a $352,000 Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) grant. RDAR and Genome Alberta, with the Government of Canada and Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development, announced $5.1 million in funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) for agriculture genomics projects earlier this month.

“Genomics research has practical real-world application that is contributing to building a more sustainable agriculture sector in Canada,” says Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “From developing new tools, improving the quality of food we eat, to breeding more resilient crops — our genomic researchers are the heart of advancing science and innovation so that our farmers in Alberta have the tools they need to be successful.”

U of L researcher leading the fight against blackleg of potato

caroline.zentner — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 16:01:43 +0000

Dr. Michele Konschuh, a research associate in the Department of Biological Sciences, is leading a study to help ensure Alberta’s potato industry stays healthy, thanks to a three-year grant from the province’s Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) fund and in-kind support from stakeholders in the potato industry.

“We’re going to try a biocontrol approach and some information and diagnostics to see if we can help the industry stay strong,” says Konschuh. “We have a very good potato industry here and we want to keep it that way. We’re very grateful for the support from industry and RDAR.”

The potato industry comprises about 55,000 acres in Alberta. The majority of potatoes are grown for processing, with about 13,000 to 15,000 acres devoted to growing seed potatoes. The industry is worth nearly $1 billion to the province’s economy.

Blackleg, one of numerous seed-borne diseases that have been identified in potato production around the world, is caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya bacteria. Of the two, Dickeya is especially aggressive and has reduced yields by 20 to 25 per cent in Europe and Israel, where the pathogen is established. It causes a blackening of the plant stem and that decay prevents nutrients from getting to the tuber and water from going up to the plant.

“We absolutely have blackleg, but blackleg is a lay person’s term for the disease,” says Konschuh. “The one we have in Alberta is caused by Pectobacterium species and it’s fairly common in all potato-growing regions. At this time, we have no Dickeya and we want to keep it that way.”

Because no pesticides are available to prevent blackleg, seed potato growers rely on agronomic practices that include cleaning and sanitizing equipment between seed lots, cleaning storage units and rotating crops. One of the trickier aspects of blackleg is that it can remain latent in the potato tuber. If planting is done under warm and dry conditions, the disease may never appear. However, in a cool, wet spring the disease can show up.

“We want to develop solutions both to prevent that latent infection and also to address the disease in the field,” says Konschuh.

Konschuh and her collaborators, Drs. Larry Kawchuk and Jonathan Neilson from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will use a multi-pronged approach that includes an information campaign outlining best practices for seed growers and sharing findings from their research.

The researchers also plan to investigate the rapid diagnostic tools available on the market and potentially develop additional tools to detect blackleg early. Such tools would allow producers to obtain a diagnosis when they see a suspicious plant in the field instead of having to wait for laboratory results.

In addition, the scientists will investigate the potential of biocontrol agents — bacteriophages and endophytes. Bacteriophages are viruses of bacteria that can kill or dissolve bacteria. Endophytes are organisms that live within a plant and can have beneficial properties, like the good bacteria that live in the gut.

The project will focus on seed potatoes to make the most impact with a smaller number of acres. Keeping the disease out of seed potatoes will help prevent it from showing up in commercial fields. This will help ensure seed growers maintain the high-quality standards they’ve already achieved and potato growers continue to generate high-yield crops.

“We don’t just supply seed domestically to other parts of Alberta for the commercial industry; we’re the largest exporter of seed potato in Canada,” says Konschuh. “Southern Alberta potato growers have a really good reputation for producing high-quality potatoes for value-added processors.”

The research project will also provide training opportunities for students to help process samples from the field, identify disease organisms and work on the biocontrol agents.

“We need the help and we would also like to work on training the workforce,” says Konschuh. “We need skilled people joining the agricultural industry.”

U of L researcher earns funding to pursue a suite of critical studies supporting area beef industry

caroline.zentner — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 20:06:29 +0000

With more than $700,000 in funding over two years from the province’s new Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) fund, Dr. Kim Stanford, a research associate at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will continue her research studies that support the beef industry. Further funding from the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) will allow Stanford and her collaborators to produce a series of podcasts called Cows on the Planet.

“This funding allows me to continue my work investigating cattle feed and food-borne pathogens,” says Stanford. “My research looks at ways of improving detection and control of pathogenic E. coli and ways to reduce ergot in cattle feed. The Cows on the Planet podcast will provide science-based information to Canadians to help them understand the cattle industry in a balanced way.”

Stanford is involved in several research projects involving Escherichia coli (E. coli). E. coli bacteria are commonly found in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals like cattle. Most types of E. coli are harmless, but a few strains can cause serious illness. The most common way to contract an E. coli infection is by eating contaminated food, such as undercooked ground meat or fresh produce that has been contaminated by runoff from cattle farms. Better detection of the harmful strains can help improve food safety in meat-processing plants and in fresh produce.

One of Stanford’s studies involves analyzing the genome of E. coli to better detect pathogenic strains. Throughout her years working for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Stanford has collected many E. coli from cattle. She’s working on developing a better way to classify those strains that are capable of producing Shiga toxins, which cause illness in people.

Another project, in collaboration with Alberta Health Services, investigates the relationship between human disease and persistence in the environment of pathogenic E. coli shed by cattle. And yet another study being conducted with scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada looks at the presence of pathogenic E. coli throughout the production chain. The researchers are testing the bacteria’s ability to tolerate heat, to form a biofilm and resistance to sanitizers. While they haven’t found any increased resistance to heat, their work on biofilm has shown a different result. Certain strains of E. coli can grow together in layers, forming a biofilm that is much more resistant to stress and sanitizers. When biofilms get onto meat-processing equipment, meat can be contaminated.

“One thing we found is that the sanitation procedures used by slaughter plants are actually selecting the strongest biofilm formers to remain on processing equipment,” says Stanford. “Chilling carcasses at zero degrees really reduced biofilm formation. We may need to incorporate some kind of chilling as the final step in sanitizing the processing equipment.”

Another focus of Stanford’s research looks at ways of reducing the toxicity of cereal ergot in cattle feed.

“Ergot is a fungus that can grow on grain. It creates these purplish ergot bodies that are packed full of ergot alkaloids, which are some of the most toxic mycotoxins,” says Stanford. “Ergot didn’t used to be a problem in Western Canada, but in recent years more and more grain is contaminated with ergot.”

Grains used for human food are cleaned to remove any ergot, but the grain that doesn’t meet the standard for human consumption is typically directed to livestock feed. If a lot of ergot is present, the feed can be toxic for the animals and produce symptoms that are hard to diagnose. It can present like pneumonia, interfere with reproduction or cause tissue death in the tips of ears, tail or hooves.

“A series of ergot studies is being conducted and the one I am leading is looking at finding a simple means of detoxifying the ergot,” Stanford said. “We’ve found that pelleted feed was less toxic than non-pelleted feed. We’re also examining heat treating the ergot. Once the ergot alkaloids have been analyzed, we’ll know which treatments worked best and we’ll move on to an animal feeding study.”

Stanford will be a co-host on the Cows on the Planet podcast. Planning the topics for the series is underway and the first podcast should be ready sometime in late spring. Edit: The podcasts are now available and you can listen and subscribe here.

RDAR funding award supporting U of L research into health of queen bees and their colonies

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 15:47:32 +0000

Queen bee might sound like a nice title to hold but when it comes to honey bees, the title carries the responsibility of being the sole reproductive female in the colony. With queen health so critically linked to the success or failure of a colony, it’s a lot of pressure.

A queen bee in the midst of her colony of workers.

A new study by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biological sciences researcher Dr. Shelley Hoover is examining the linkages between queen health and colony success, and the factors that mediate these relationships. The project, The Royal Treatment: Improving honey bee queen health as the basis of integrated colony health, is supported by a four-year, $496,513 funding grant from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR).

“Dr. Hoover’s research aligns with a critically important priority identified by Alberta’s bee producers on the availability of a sustainable source of high-quality queens, supporting overall hive performance,” says Clinton Dobson, RDAR research director. “RDAR is pleased to partner with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission to accelerate this area of research and ensure that Alberta’s Beekeepers and the honey industry reach their full potential here in Alberta.“

Dr. Shelley Hoover working with her bees.

Alberta beekeepers, who account for 40 per cent of all the honey bee colonies in Canada, have faced very high levels of winter colony loss in recent years. In 2019-20 alone, they reported a 41 per cent colony winter morbidity rate.

“Imagine if the cattle producers lost 40 per cent of their cows over winter, it's huge,” says Hoover, who recently joined the U of L after spending the previous eight years at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. “Beekeepers are able to make replacement colonies in a way other livestock producers can't because a big colony can be split, but you need a queen to do that.”

Queen health is critical for colony success and Hoover says beekeepers cite poor queens as one of the most common reasons for winter loss.

“Queens are really the heart of the colony,” she says. “They're the mother of all the workers in the colony.”

While many biotic (parasites, pathogens) and abiotic (weather, pesticides) stressors contribute to colony mortality, queen health has received surprisingly little attention.

“One reason is it’s difficult to do the research in a non-disruptive way. When we study parasites and diseases, we usually have to kill the bees to take a sample and analyze,” says Hoover. “It’s much less disruptive to take a sample of 30 worker bees than it is to take a queen. It makes it very difficult to measure colony productivity and queen health without destroying the queen so you can get the information you need.”

Hoover’s research will support the work of undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students and focus on three key objectives.

Specifically, the proposed project will examine methods of requeening, as well as storing locally produced queens. Secondly, the project will examine the linkages between queen health and reproduction, queen pheromones, worker behaviours, and colony performance with the goal of providing beekeepers on-farm methods by which they can evaluate queens before introducing them into colonies. Finally, the study will provide beekeepers with specific queen management recommendations.

“We've always worked really closely with beekeepers and they've been extremely supportive,” says Hoover, who has about 100 colonies of bees on campus at the U of L. “This project is directly in collaboration with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission.”

Grace Strom, a High River beekeeper who also sits on the Alberta Beekeepers Commission (ABC), says Hoover’s work has been invaluable to beekeepers as they look to continually advance their knowledge.

“I am thrilled Dr. Hoover continues to support beekeeping in the province of Alberta through her very valuable research on queens,” says Strom. “Dr. Hoover has listened well to the needs of beekeepers and continues to focus her work on meaningful ways of improving hive health. We are confident her research will lead to more sustainable beekeeping in the province.”

Provincial support expanding agricultural research at U of L

trevor.kenney — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 22:26:42 +0000

In July, Alberta’s government and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge signed a $1.8-million agreement, which saw three programs transferred to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and provided it with the financial capacity to recruit three researchers.

Drs. Shelley Hoover, Michele Konschuh and Kim Stanford are introduced to campus.

On Thursday, Drs. Shelley Hoover (apiculture and pollination), Michele Konschuh (irrigated crops) and Kim Stanford (livestock pathogens) were introduced.

These researchers bring world-leading experience and expertise to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and create even greater learning experiences for students. Welcoming these researchers brings together multiple disciplines and opens up even more chances for collaboration.

“The addition of Doctors Konschuh, Hoover and Stanford will expand the breadth of agriculture research on our campus, while their programs and experience will inform and enhance the greater work of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s talented faculty members. Our institution values collaboration and trans-disciplinary research. Having these talented individuals working in tandem with our existing researchers will lead to new discoveries benefiting the communities we serve," says Dr. Robert Wood, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's vice-president (research).

This agreement is a part of the Alberta government’s commitment to ensuring farmers and ranchers lead agriculture research priorities. Establishing Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), an arm’s-length non-profit corporation, is a first step in making sure research funding priorities are producer-led. Over the long term, RDAR will assume ongoing responsibility for the funding agreement with the U of L.

“The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is closely connected to southern Alberta’s agriculture activities through its research, teaching and outreach activities," says U of L President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon. "The addition of these three research programs will further our agriculture research capacity on campus, and allow the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to enhance its already close connectivity to this critical industry in the years ahead.”

UNews - RDAR

Agriculture research, innovation and training earns RDAR support, extending three important faculty positions

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