Young Plant Scientists are Creating the Crops of the Future

Feb 03, 2023

The three recipients of this year’s Canadian Plant Breeding Innovation (CPBI) Scholarship have one big thing in common — they’re doing important work on a number of major crops that could ensure a brighter future for pea, durum and soybean in Canada.

On this week’s Seed Speaks, host Marc Zienkiewicz was joined by 2023 scholarship recipients Jérôme Gélinas Bélanger (McGill University), Loveleen Kaur Dhillon (University of Saskatchewan) and Ritesh Kumar Yadav (University of Manitoba).

The scholarships — part of the CPBI Awards program which also includes Seed of the Year and the Plant Breeding and Genetics Award — are made possible through a slate of great sponsors. On board as sponsors this year are Alberta Wheat and Barley commissions, C&M Seeds, Canadian Seed Growers Association, FP Genetics, Germination, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Richardson, Sask Wheat, SeCan, Warburtons, Western Grains Research Foundation and Seeds Canada.

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.

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Video: How Can We Grow More Food With Less Impact?

For over two decades, Dr. Mitloehner has been at the forefront of research on how animal agriculture affects our air and our climate. With deep expertise in emissions and volatile organic compounds, his work initially focused on air quality in regions like California’s Central Valley—home to both the nation’s richest agricultural output and some of its poorest air quality.

In recent years, methane has taken center stage in climate discourse—not just scientifically, but politically. Once a topic reserved for technical discussions about manure management and feed efficiency, it has become a flashpoint in debates over sustainability, regulation, and even the legitimacy of livestock farming itself.

Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Specialist with the CLEAR Center sits down with Associate Director for Communications at the CLEAR Center, Joe Proudman.