How Young Plant Scientists are Creating Crops of the Future

Jan 31, 2023

Bolstering nitrogen fixation in pea. Understanding how to develop extra-early soybean varieties to enable cultivation in different climates. Creating a potential new class of wheat.

The winners of this year’s Canadian Plant Breeding Innovation (CPBI) Scholarships are doing just that.

On next week’s Seed Speaks, host Marc Zienkiewicz will talk to PhD students Loveleen Kaur Dhillon (University of Saskatchewan), Jérôme Gélinas Bélanger (McGill University) and Ritesh Kumar Yadav (University of Manitoba) about their work, why it’s significant, why they wanted to be in plant science, and their advice for how up-and-coming young science students can be successful in plant science.

Bélanger, 35, is known as an ambitious, original and highly independent researcher who had his own idea to start a PhD research project aimed at identifying novel genes involved in the early flowering/maturity of soybeans using CRISPR-Cas9 and QTL mapping. Currently, his project aims to understand how to develop extra-early soybean varieties to enable cultivation in Canadian regions such as northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. He’s also trying to develop novel genetic soybean transformation techniques that could increase the competitiveness of Canadian plant breeders and seed companies for other traits.

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Video: We’ll NEVER Use These Grain Bins Again!

A huge change is happening on the farm — our new grain bin has officially arrived, and that means we’ll never use some of our old grain bins again. In today's video, we take delivery of the new grain bin, look back at the old bins that have been part of our farm for years, and talk about why this upgrade is such a big deal for harvest, grain storage, and the future of our family farm.

This is more than just a grain bin delivery. It’s the end of an era and the start of a major farm upgrade that will completely change how we handle corn during harvest. From old grain storage to a brand-new bin setup, this project is one of the biggest improvements we’ve made at the farm.

Join me as the new grain bin shows up, the bin project continues, and we prepare for a new chapter in harvest efficiency on our Minnesota family farm.