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Potato Planting Progressing

Potato planting has started in Manitoba.

Vikram Bisht, with Manitoba Agriculture, gave us an update.

"They started last Friday," he said. "They were hoping to go about a week earlier but this cold weather snap, and the snowfall, basically delayed the plans. We are now about normal. We were thinking that it might be earlier planting. The ground is a bit dry, some of the growers may have to find sources of water and soon."

He expects to see a few thousand acres more than last year, which saw 70,000 plus acres grown in Manitoba.

Bisht says its important for potato growers to wait for the soils to warm up, adding the slower the potatoes emerge, the greater the chance of disease.

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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.