7 www.SmallFarmCanada.ca 6 June 2026 AAFC PHOTO TOP LEFT: FRESH ADVENTURES - WIRESTOCK - ADOBE STOCK | TOP RIGHT: TESDESIGNS - ADOBE STOCK AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION IS KEY TO CANADA’S FUTURE — SO WHY ARE WE CLOSING RESEARCH SITES? ARTICLE BY SENATOR BLACK Agricultural research and innovation are intertwined and fundamental to the competitiveness and resiliency of the Canadian agriculture sector. Yet, in January, the federal government announced the closure of three Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research and development centres in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Additionally, four satellite research farms — one in Nova Scotia, one in Manitoba and two in Saskatchewan — are being shuttered. Researchers at Kansas State University are pioneering a novel approach to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) by using mealworms as an oral vaccine delivery system. Led by Laura Miller, associate professor of veterinary virology, the multidisciplinary team is exploring how mealworms—already a natural component of poultry diets—can be engineered to produce and deliver vaccine antigens directly through feed. HPAI remains a major global threat to domestic animal health, capable of wiping out entire poultry flocks within days. The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded the team nearly $2 million as part of a competitive $100 million national initiative to support innovative prevention and vaccine strategies. The project leverages CRISPR-based gene editing to rapidly update vaccines as the virus evolves. This agility contrasts with traditional egg-based vaccines, which can take months to adjust. The system is also being designed to meet DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) standards. Collaborators include experts in veterinary medicine, entomology, and insect farming from Kansas State University and North Carolina State University. The research aligns with K-State’s Insect Farming Initiative, which supports the use of insects in agricultural systems and sees potential for expanding this platform to other animal diseases. If successful, the mealworm-based vaccine could revolutionize poultry health management by enabling rapid, stress-free vaccination through feed, to help reduce losses as well as stabilize food prices. Source: Feedstuffs.com MEALWORM-BASED VACCINE RESEARCH SOI L FEDS ANNOUNCE NATIONAL AG SOIL HEALTH STRATEGY ARTICLE BY KATE AYERS On March 26 Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald announced that the Canadian government will advance the National Agricultural Soil Health Strategy to protect this essential resource. The initiative builds on work of the Senate and is supported by Bill S-230, an act respecting the development of a national strategy for soil health protection, conservation and enhancement. On June 6, 2024, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry brought forward a report on the status of Canada’s soil health and made 25 recommendations to the federal government to protect and conserve soil health. One of its recommendations was to develop a national strategy. Also, the Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) and the Compost Council of Canada developed the Recruiting Soil to Tackle Climate Change Roadmap. This work recommended the establishment of a soil health roundtable and development of a national soil health strategy. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the SCCC are strategy leads but it’s development will be a collaborative effort between industry partners, an AAFC release says. “The development of the National Agricultural Soil Health Strategy will be informed through regular engagement with provinces and territories, Indigenous agricultural groups, producer organizations, academia and industry,” AAFC says. At its core, the strategy will support sustainable practices, improve data collection and strengthen the long-term resilience of Canada’s agricultural lands, AAFC says. “The National Agricultural Soil Health Strategy is an important first step in establishing a shared vision and coordinated approach to improving soil health across the country,” says AAFC director of communications Jennica Klassen. AAFC and SCCC will create a committee structure and advisory working groups to guide the strategy’s development. Engagement will start this spring, AAFC says. While further details have yet to be released, in the March 26 Debates of the Senates, Ontario Senator Robert Black stated the strategy will be completed and officially launched in 2027. Indeed, the strategy is a collaboration to prove research, enhance technology extension, champion good models of incentives and resources and reach agreement on priority measurements, says SCCC interim executive director Susie Miller. The strategy’s guiding principles are that it is farmer-focused, voluntary and collaborative, inclusive, regionally responsive, evidence-based and iterative and adaptable. “The [strategy’s] primary role is the preservation and the improvement of soil health, so that farms can farm,” Miller says. “We want to bring in the research, practical experience and farmer knowledge, because that is so, so, so important. It has to be grounded in reality.” The agriculture-industry led framework will have an immediate view (by 2030) and longer-term view (by 2050). This announcement comes on the heels of AAFC’s proposed budget cuts, which currently sees the closure of seven research stations in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia and reduction of about 665 staff positions. The cuts include the termination of long-term studies on intercropping, biocontrol and living mulch at the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre. “On March 25, AAFC scientists leading decades- long soil science files and regenerative ag research were ordered to cease all scientific activity. The next day, Agriculture Minister MacDonald proceeded to announce an industry-led national soil strategy with corporate lobby groups at the helm,” National Farmers Union Canada says in a social media post on April 1. “To protect our soils, adapt to climate change, and protect our food security, what we need is a functioning public interest research system, not one designed to help input suppliers and multinational corporations make more money.” Miller noted that over 100 stakeholders were engaged on the strategy’s development between January and March 2024 and that farmers and ranchers will have a chance to provide feedback on the draft strategy between January and April 2027. SMALL FARM CANADA Barnyard Humour with Nelson Dewey Minister of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Heath MacDonald at the podium.
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