NSAC E-Bulletin

Please forward your submissions to the NSAC E-Bulletin to the newsdesk (news@nsac.ca) by Friday at 2:00 p.m. for inclusion in the next week's edition.

NSAC Successful in AIF Process

The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), announced that the Government of Canada will invest in 29 research and development projects in Atlantic Canada under ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF). Two of these projects will go to NSAC.

The Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, through its Atlantic BioVenture Centre, is collaborating with several private sector companies and the Atlantic Horticultural Centre in Kentville. Their current project involves developing natural products from Atlantic bioresources, including Atlantic dogfish, cultivated mussels and selected seaweed. With total costs estimated at almost $5 million, this project will receive up to $2.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a two-year period.

Performance Genomics Inc. is a private Canadian controlled company that develops DNA breeding markers for commercial livestock improvement. The expected result of this research project is the development of DNA tests that can be used to predict the reproductive longevity of livestock and validate these tests in two species - swine and beef. The project, with total costs of almost $3 million, will receive up to $1 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four-year period.

NSAC Athletics Award Results

The annual awards banquet honouring NSAC student athletics and their supports was held Friday , March 31st..  Check out the full results.  Congratulations to all the winners.

Business & Economics 4th year Student  Presentations

The 4th year students of the Business & Social Sciences Department, would like to invite you to The Business & Economics 4th Year Presentations. They will be presented Thursday April 6th, at 1:00 pm in the C.A. Douglas Room on the top floor of Cumming Hall.

Projects to be presented include:
Elizabeth Coady, Consumer Perceptions of On-Farm Food Safety’
Jason Van der Linden, Case Studies of Energy Usage on Nova Scotia Dairy Farms’
Emily Nicks, Dilemmas in Dairy’
Nicolas Roy, Canadian Quality Milk: Costs to Nova Scotia Producers’
Michele Desjardins, What do consumers think about food labelling in Nova Scotia?’
Kathryn Farrell, The Impact of Quota Removal on Nova Scotia Dairy Farms’
Andrew MacIsaac, To Malt or Not to Malt: The Changing Environment of Scottish Primary Agriculture

Seminar in the Kentville Seminar Series:
Horticulture in the Republic of Georgia

Georgia was a part of the former Soviet Union. Since receiving its independence in 1991 the country has faced many challenges shifting from a socialist to a free market system. In January I had the opportunity to visit the Republic of Georgia to review the Horticultural Industry. This seminar will provide an over view of Georgia, the horticultural industry, and the many challenges and opportunities it faces.

*The Seminar Series is presented to increase awareness of research conducted by scientists at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, and their colleagues. Seminars will be held in the Cornwallis Room, on Monday at 3:00 pm, except as noted.

NSIA Annual Meeting, Banquet and Workshop Registration

Please see attached notice regarding the NSIA Annual Meeting, Honours and Awards Banquet, Professional Development Program Workshop and the Articling Agrologist Program Workshops. Date: Thursday, April 13th. Please pre-register!

NSAC Student research in Ethiopia

Congratulations to two 3rd year Animal Science students, Carley Thomas and Murray Gillies, who have been selected to travel to Ethiopia this summer to undertake research for their fourth year projects at JUCAVM, the Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine.

Murray’s research topic is: The family dairy industry in Jimma Ethiopia: its importance to Ethiopian food security, constraints and potential.

Carley’s research topic is: The evaluation of sub-tropical forages commonly found in the pastures of small scale farms in the Jimma, Ethiopia region.

JUCAVM is a partner on a CIDA-funded Agricultural Sustainability Project with NSAC. Carley and Murray will be jointly supervised by faculty members here at NSAC and at JUCAVM. The students will depart at the end of this month. Watch for presentations by Carley and Murray when they return to campus next fall.

Good luck to you both!

Mount Ida Horse Show
NSAC Equestrian Club Team Results

Open Over Fences - Krista Brouwer 5th
Open Flat A - Krista Brouwer 5th
Open Flat B - Jenna Fisher 5th
Intermediate Over Fences - Ashley Gillies 5th
Intermediate Flat A - Ashley Gillies 5th
Intermediate Flat B - Lindsay Steele 4th
Novice Flat - Jamie Lecky 5th
Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter A - Rachael Gielen 5th
Advanced Walk/Trot/Canter B - Meghan Hudak 5th
Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter - Lindsay Collins 2nd
Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter - Anna Briand 3rd

International Student Meet and Greet hosted by NSAC Recruitment

There will be an informal meet and greet, Tuesday, April 4th 7pm in Haley 112 for NSISP students, their host families and supporters, as well as our Internaitonal students, faculty and staff. Please see the attached notice.

2006 NSERC Discovery Grants Awarded to Four NSAC Faculty

Congratulations are extended to Dr. Vasantha Rupasinghe who received notice of approval of his first NSERC Discovery Grant. Congratulations are also extended to Drs. Vilis Nams, Rob Gordon and Ali Madani on receiving NSERC's approval for continuing support of their research programs

Seminar Notice -- Norman Goodyear in Ruins

Dr. Norman Goodyear has recently returned from visits to partner institutions in Mexico and the United States. These institutions offer exciting opportunities for NSAC students to take a semester of courses and receive full credit. Financial support for (airfare, passports, visas, health insurance and a living stipend allowance) is available through NSAC’s Rural Sustainability in Agriculture and Aquaculture project. April 6, 3:30 PM.Cox 261. Check out poster for full details.

Deadline Extended for Abstracts to Joint Meeting

Halifax 2006: The Joint Meeting of the Canadian Societies for Agronomy, Animal Science and Horticultural Science, to be held at the Westin Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia – August 1-4, 2006

Please note that the extended deadline for abstract submission is Friday April 21, 2006.

It is our hope that you will register and take part in this exciting conference, which brings together three unique research groups in agricultural sciences. There are great opportunities for Graduate Students!

The "all inclusive" price for graduate students who are members of their scientific society is only $150, which includes registration for all events, a scientific society tour, three lunches, a welcoming reception, a BBQ, an awards banquet and dance, and for grad students only, a pub tour and mixer. Accommodation is not included. Oral and Poster sessions are planned and all graduate students are encouraged to participate in competitions for best papers.

Website for Halifax 2006 is http://nsac.ca/pas/conferences/default.asp

We look forward to seeing you at the Halifax 2006 in August.

Vasantha Rupasinghe, Ph.D,
Chair of Publicity Committee, Halifax 2006

Recruitment Update

Hello and Happy Spring to all!

The past few weeks have been filled with activity throughout campus and Recruitment was no exception. Over the past two weeks, Craig and I have been working on a few smaller projects together here on campus, while also beginning our own as well. more....

NSERC Grant To Dr. Raj Lada

Congratulation to Dr. Raj Lada who was recently informed that he has received approval under the NSERC CRD program for his project proposal entitled"Carrot bulking, quality and harvest synchronization through uncovering genotype, agronomic and agroglimaticalogical interactions" 

The project is a partnership with Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the Bragg Lumber Company Ltd.  Total award from NSERC is $142,500 over four years with partner contribution of an additional $160,000.