CBC Spotlights U of G Successful Rice Crop

Oct 02, 2019

A collaborative effort between U of G researchers and industry to develop Canada’s first commercial rice production has resulted in success, CBC Windsor recently reported.

Ontario FangZheng Agriculture Enterprises along with researchers from U of G’s Ridgetown Campus set out to grow a one-hectare trial rice crop growing on a farm west of Chatham.

Farm manager Wendy Zhang, who recently graduated with an M.Sc. from the Department of Plant Agriculture, told CBC the experimental crop was a success and described the harvested rice as “perfect.”

Prof. John Zandstra, who researches fruit and vegetable cropping systems as well as new crop development, said the next step is to get an idea of “pest pressure” on the crop with the goal of growing at least 70 hectares of rice next year.

Source : University of Guelph

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.