Seeding Underway For Canadian Foodgrains Bank

May 28, 2020

Farmers have begun seeding fields for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB).

Gordon Janzen is the Regional Representative for Manitoba.

"Seeding has been going ahead fairly well for most of the growing projects, although it was slow in getting started," he said. "It was pretty cold and some of the ground was pretty wet for a while into May but now at the end of May a lot of the projects have been able to get going."

Janzen says Manitoba has close to 40 grow projects (about 5,000 acres) this year, with most growing wheat, canola or soybeans. There are also a few fields of corn being grown as well.

One of the returning projects this year is the Scratching River grow project near Rosenort, which hasn't planted a field for a few years.

Click here to see more...

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.