By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday June 23, 2022

Jun 23, 2022 | 11:42 AM

MELFORT, Sask – This is Native Prairie Appreciation Week, a time to draw attention to the need to conserve these areas.

Native prairie grassland is one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth, but it is also some of the most at-risk areas in the world.

Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SPCAP) manager Carolyn Gaudet said it is a great opportunity to educate the public.

“The diversity of plants, animals and insects found on native prairie is amazing and unfortunately disappearing, so we want to encourage everyone to learn more about native prairie and find out how they can support this fragile ecosystem,” she said.

SPCAP is planning several activities including urban awareness booths at Farmers Markets, giving away native seed packets, a social media photo contest, a webinar, and a pasture tour.

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The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan has hired its first Chief Scientific Officer.

Nancy Tout is a research and development leader with a PhD in microbiology and immunology.

She is joining GIFS from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) in Alberta where she has been responsible for developing, administering and delivering research funding programs.

Prior to RDAR, she was at Syngenta Canada for over 21 years, leading a research and development team of 60 scientists across Canada in the discovery, development and registration of agricultural innovation projects.

Tout earned a Bachelor of Biology degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, followed by a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Guelph in 1997.

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The official opening of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization’s (VIDO) new pilot-scale vaccine manufacturing facility at the University of Saskatchewan will be on June 28.

VIDO CEO Volker Gerdts said the facility will help speed up the development of new vaccines.

“In the past, we have contracted the manufacturing of our technologies out to companies who are so-called contract manufacturers. That works but the downside to that is that it’s usually a longer process than if you had it in-house,” Gerdts said.

The commissioning of the new facility is expected to be complete by late summer or early fall with the manufacturing vaccines happening in the fourth quarter of this year.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW