What We have been Working on for You: OFVGA Activities Update January 2020

Marie-Claude Bibeau was reappointed as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet last month and the ministers received their mandate letters before the holidays. OFVGA will be participating in the federal lobbying event being hosted by Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) and Canadian Produce Marketing Association in February to ensure the interests of Ontario growers are represented. OFVGA will also be in Ottawa in mid-March to attend the Canadian Horticultural Council annual general meeting.

 

Latest status: OFVGA has written to the Minister and her parliamentary secretary Neil Ellis, as well as the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the opposition critics of federal ministries relevant to edible horticulture. Next steps include making contact with Ontario Members of Parliament to make them aware of our sector’s key priorities: financial protection for growers, crop protection and labour. 

Video: Decoding Pig Performance With AI And Transcriptomics - Dr. Maria Walsh

The Swine it Podcast Show, Dr. Maria Walsh, Chief Operating Officer at Biofractal, explains how transcriptomics and AI are helping swine producers better understand the gap between genetic potential and commercial performance. Dr. Walsh discusses metabolic efficiency, disease resilience, PRRS challenges, and practical on-farm biological insights using blood samples and AI-powered analysis. She also explains how nutrition, health, and production data can work together to improve decision-making. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Gene expression data provides biological insight into how pigs respond to nutrition, stress, and health challenges before visible production losses occur."