Partner blog feature: Creating an experience around food

Feb 13, 2024

Laura Virginillo’s company, Modern General Food Group, traces its origins to a 1,400 square foot bakery in Vancouver, where she started out offering fresh baking, handcrafted coffee and drinks and unique pantry staples. Like so many others, the pandemic caused her to change course and Virginillo began producing her own products.

Following a move to Ontario in 2021, she’s also been building a wholesale business where she develops, manufactures and sells unique food products under her own brand name. Innovation is key for her when she’s developing recipes or packaged products and looking for better ways to do things.

Learn more about Laura’s journey in an article by the Small Scale Food Processors Association, a Bioenterprise Canada industry partner.

Click here to see more...

Video: Dr. Emerson Nafziger: Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates for Corn

The Crop Science Podcast Show, Dr. Emerson Nafziger from the University of Illinois breaks down decades of nitrogen research. From the evolution of N rate guidelines to how soil health and hybrid genetics influence nitrogen use efficiency, this conversation unpacks the science behind smarter fertilization. Improving how we set nitrogen fertilizer rates for rainfed corn is a key focus. Discover why the MRTN model matters more than ever, and how shifting mindsets and better data can boost yields and environmental outcomes. Tune in now on all major platforms!

"The nitrogen that comes from soil mineralization is the first nitrogen the plant sees, and its role is underestimated."

Meet the guest:

Dr. Emerson Nafziger is Professor Emeritus of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with degrees in agronomy from Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois. His research has focused on nitrogen rate strategies and crop productivity. He co-developed the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) model, which is widely used across the Midwest. His research spans N response trials, hybrid interactions, crop rotation effects, and yield stability.