Award safety in agriculture
Brian Olson, a Saskatchewan farmer turned entrepreneur, recently received the Evelyn Rosentreter Award by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers at its convention in Detroit, Michigan.
The award recognizes Olson for his outstanding contributions to ASABE Standards and Safety within the agricultural industry.
Olson, who founded Power Pin in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., invented a hitch in the 1990s that has become a standard feature on many large tractors in North America. Hit N Hitch is a patented hitching system for on-road applications.
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New ag college dean
James Benkie has been named the new dean of program development for agriculture technology at Olds College in Olds, Alta.
Benkie will focus on developing a new program in agriculture technology that will offer students three different provincially approved credentials, including a certificate, diploma and degree.
The creation of three new credentials in agriculture technology, along with the launch of the Olds College Smart Farm and the Thought Leader in Smart Agriculture are all part of the Smart Agriculture system at Olds College.
His past experience includes senior roles with Fujitsu Canada, Benville Grain Group and Agriculture Financial Services Corp.
Award recognizes ag students
Applications are being excepted until May 3 for the 2018-19 Excellence Award for Agricultural Students.
Farm Management Canada and the Canadian Association of Diploma in Agriculture Programs are collecting submissions and will award three winners with scholarships to further their education in agriculture.
The annual contest is designed to help students improve communication skills by having the opportunity to voice their opinion on a subject related to farm management.
Students are asked to submit a multimedia presentation, a video, a Twitter chat, a blog or a Wiki, responding to the question: How can agriculture bridge the increasing rural and urban divide?
More information is at fmc-gac.com.
CGC grain safety recognized
The Canadian Grain Commission’s grain safety certification programs have been recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative.
By achieving GFSI technical equivalence, the CGC is in a stronger position to help grain-handling companies meet international regulatory and market-driven food safety demands.
CGC programs meet internationally accepted science-based standards in food safety management with the Canadian Identity Preserved System and hazard analysis and critical control points.
App for aphid control
Scientists at Agriculture Canada’s Pest Management Centre have developed a new smartphone application to help farmers decide when insecticide use is necessary for controlling cereal aphids.
The Cereal Aphid Manager allows growers to identify and record population levels of aphids and their natural enemies while in the field.
Then the app predicts aphid population growth, compares this with the standard economic thresholds and informs farmers if they need to spray.
The app will recommend an insecticide treatment if the economic threshold has been or will be exceeded or no treatment if natural enemies are expected to suppress aphid population growth below the threshold.
