Make it Safe, Make it Visible

Seeding is underway in some parts of the province, which means more farm machinery will be on the roads as farmers move equipment, in many cases long distances between fields. Farm machinery is large and slow and this can lead to some hazards on the road. Laurel Aitken, farm safety coordinator, joins us in studio to talk about those hazards, and what farmers can do to minimize the chances of having accidents.

 

Interview with Laurel Aitken (2:50 minutes) (1.29 Mb) 

 

For more information, go to www.agriculture.alberta.ca/farmsafety and look for the resource “Make it Safe, Make it Visible.” Information on transportation regulations can be found at www.transportation.alberta.ca

 

And a reminder you can listen to Call of the Land on your mobile device using the new Call of the Land App. It’s available for free from iTunes and the Google Play Store. 

 

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.