AgScape Partners with Meat & Poultry Ontario to Introduce a Meat & Poultry Processing Resource for Ontario Educators

Feb 21, 2023

AgScape Partners with Meat & Poultry Ontario to Introduce a Meat & Poultry Processing Resource for Ontario Educators

Milton, Ontario – AgScape, a leader in innovative agriculture and food education for educators and students across Ontario, is proud to launch its curriculum-linked resource, Meat & Poultry Processing in Ontario, Teacher’s Guide for Grades 7-12, in collaboration with Meat & Poultry Ontario on Canada’s Agriculture Day.

This comprehensive resource includes a Teacher’s Guide, providing an overview of the meat and poultry processing sector in Ontario, as well as three interdisciplinary lesson plans targeting grades 7-8, grades 9-10 and grades 11-12. Many different and relevant themes such as packaging and food waste (7-8), industry challenges and solutions (9-10) and food safety (11-12) as well as an overarching theme of career exploration are covered in the lesson plans provided.

AgScape and Meat & Poultry Ontario share the belief that resources like this Teacher's Guide are vital to sharing accurate, balanced and current information on a sector that is facing extreme labour shortages. By working with teachers, students and the school community, this resource will give students a first-hand look into stable employment and the opportunity to explore exciting career opportunities.

“In this reource, educators will have all the information they need to fully explore the entire meat and poultry processing supply chain, gaining valuable knowledge of the inner workings of our food system,” said Shaunna MacQuarriem, Project Assistant at AgScape and Ontario Certified Teacher. “They will also be able to successfully equip the workforce of tomorrow with the necessary skills for careers in Canada’s agriculture sector.”

“We believe that students have an interest in knowing where our food comes from and will benefit from understanding the important role they could play in shaping the future of meat processing in Ontario,” said Daphne Nuys-Hall, Technical Director at Meat & Poultry Ontario. “This resource will showcase the abundance of opportunities that exist in the industry, from entry-level to highly skilled positions.”

Source : Agscape

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.