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Analytical chemist explores contaminant impacts on water and soil quality

 Dr. Alistair Brown joined the Department of Soil Science as Manitoba Analytical Solutions (MASS) Lab Director and Assistant Professor, on October 1, 2024. His interest in analytical chemistry was sparked during his undergraduate studies when a course on ecotoxicology shifted his career focus. Today, Alistair explores the fate and toxicity of environmental contaminants in soils and water, including UV filters, pesticides, and perfluorinated compounds.

Tell us about yourself

I’ve been with my wife Kendra for 23 years, and I have two sons, Asher and Jude, who are 16 and 13 respectively, and our dog Ollie who turns two tomorrow. I am a mass spectrometry method validation specialist. I got my BSc (Biochemistry) from the University of Winnipeg in 2013, and PhD (Chemistry) from the University of Manitoba in 2019. In my post-doc, I developed analytical methods for federal compliance under the Cannabis Act (2018), after which time I worked with Environment and Climate Change Canada studying the impact of different retention structures on nutrient loading into the Red River Basin. During the pandemic, I made several courses for the Department of Environment and Geography, after which I was solicited to create the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences’ Manitoba Analytical Solutions (MASS) Lab in the Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research. Now I have made numerous additional methods for several faculties, in addition to Health Canada.

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Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

Video: Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

If you assumed Nebraska was too hot and dry for white mold to be a problem in soybeans, think again.

This week we're featuring Galen Samuelson, a farmer and dealer from Wakefield, Nebraska, who knows all too well how devastating white mold can be.

"We don't have it consistently every year, but with our temperature and humidity, it can hurt us quite bad," Samuelson says. Looking for alternatives, he explains, "What I like about Heads Up is that it's non-harmful to the beneficial fungal colonies in the soil." Galen has been using Heads Up for several years now, after first hearing about it through a small ad in a regional newspaper. Watch below to hear about his journey.

When asked to write about Samuelson Seed, Galen said the following:

"Samuelson Seed is a 4th-generation, family-based company. It started with my grandfather, and I'm now starting to pass the torch to my son, Caleb."

"In the early 1990s, I started working with a company whose focus was on plant and soil health before those benefits were widely known. I've continued to keep plant and soil health the main focus in our farming operation decisions."