On the second day of the 8th Asian-Australasian conference on precision agriculture at PAU, the keynote speaker of the day, Prof Viacheslav Adamchuk, [BRE] shared his views on sensor systems in precision agriculture with special emphasis on development of proximal soil and plant sensing systems, geospatial data processing and management and practical implementation of precision agriculture.

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OpEd by Dr Alice Cherestes, Director, Freshman Program

Students talk about the course as OChem or Orgo, otherwise known as Organic Chemistry, one of the most dreaded courses for any student doing a university science degree. The course, taken mostly in the early stage of a student’s undergraduate degree, requires that material taught during the first week of class be understood and applied many weeks later when students do the final exam.  

Urban agriculture is getting a $750,000 boost from the province and from Montreal to help develop the farming sector.

 The goal is to spur innovation and growth in urban farming, agriculture and local greenhouses, ensuring the projects align with the needs in each part of town to add to the vitality of the area.

... These measures have been due for a long time, said McGill University Urban Agriculture Professor Mark Lefsrud.

'You need political will, and it takes time' – urban greenhouses could benefit from more direct support from governments, experts say.

...Mark Lefsrud has studied different ways of growing food for more than 20 years. He is an associate professor at McGill University’s Macdonald Campus where he is a leader of the Biomass Production Laboratory and worked on the design of the Advanced Plant Habitat on the International Space Station.

Today [June 20], Iain Stewart, President of the National Research Council, Canada's largest federal research and development organization, announced the results of the inaugural round of the NRC’s New Beginnings Initiative. The New Beginnings Initiative is part of the NRC’s Ideation Fund, which was announced in Budget 2018 to encourage, test and validate transformative research ideas generated by NRC researchers working with external collaborators.

... The projects with McGill collaborators and associated funding amounts include:

Bien des agriculteurs ont de la difficulté à estimer la juste quantité de fertilisant à utiliser pour obtenir le meilleur rendement à moindre coût lors de l’épandage d’azote dans leurs champs de maïs. Un nouvel outil, développé par Viacheslav Adamchuk, professeur et chercheur au Département de génie des bioressources, en partenariat avec Agriculture Canada, pourrait bientôt leur prêter main-forte.

Lire dans La Terre de chez nous

During a summer internship in California’s Lava Beds National Monument, Christopher Patterson, a second- year student in Bioresource Engineering, worked as a Research Assistant for ATiLT (Astrobiology Training in Lava Tubes).

“By studying naturally protective formations like lava tubes and other potentially habitable locations, I have become aware of the incredible opportunities that lie beyond our world not only for myself, but for humanity as a whole,” says Patterson.