MAKE Podcast

Welcome to ChangeMAKErs, a new MAKEManitoba podcast series highlighting research and innovation powered by members of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.

In this episode, host and FAFS research facilitator Dr. Chantal Bassett chats with Dr. Marcos Cordeiro, Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science, about his journey to the faculty and his approach to research on grasslands.

Download the transcript 

Welcome to ChangeMAKErs, a new MAKEManitoba podcast series highlighting research and innovation powered by members of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.

In this episode, host and FAFS research facilitator Dr. Chantal Bassett chats with Dr. Curt McCartney, Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Science, to chat about his research in wheat breeding, genetics and genomics, especially in the areas of winter survival, yield, and disease resistance.

Welcome to ChangeMAKErs, a new MAKEManitoba podcast series highlighting research and innovation powered by members of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.

In our first episode, host and FAFS research facilitator Dr. Chantal Bassett chats with Dr. Nandika Bandara, Canada Research Chair in Food Proteins and Bioproducts, to explore his work on value-added applications in the protein industry.

Laura Telford, Organic Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, has a conversation with long-time organic researcher, Martin Entz. They discuss the current activities of the Natural Systems Agriculture Lab at the University of Manitoba, and its role in fostering organic production in Canada

Laura Telford, Organic Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, has a conversation with long-time organic researcher, Martin Entz. They discuss the current activities of the Natural Systems Agriculture Lab at the University of Manitoba, and its role in fostering organic production in Canada

Canadian grain and oilseed sales make up a lion share of farm income in Canada and Manitoba. Canola and wheat prices have been relatively stable since 2008 despite bumper crops and droughts in western Canada. The recent price spikes in the spring of 2022 were well outside all forecasts. Dr. Derek Brewin, Head of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, University of Manitoba, and David Simonot, Crops Intelligence Specialist at Manitoba Agriculture, discuss the dynamics of the current supply and demand for canola and wheat and discuss some possible drivers for the rapid price rise this spring.

In Manitoba, the pig industry makes a significant contribution to the local economy and the Province’s GDP.  A threat to the pig industry is disease outbreaks, which can be economically and emotionally devastating. In this podcast, we talk about important pig diseases in Manitoba and their routes of transmission, with a focus on airborne transmission. The processes of airborne transmission, various factors affecting transmission possibility and distance, and strategies to protect against airborne transmission are discussed. Hosted by Van Doan of Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, with guest speakers Dr. Qiang Zhang and PhD student Amy La, from the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba. 

Antibiotic alternatives can promote growth, boost the immune system, and prevent intestinal diseases, thus improving gut health and function in poultry and swine. In this podcast, Drs. Martin Nyachoti and Chengbo Yang discuss with Amy Johnston the results of research they and others have conducted at the Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba on various antibiotic alternatives. Although those in-feed antibiotic alternatives can help maintain a healthy gut in poultry and swine, the role of good nutritional strategies, and health and husbandry management practices are also discussed.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and other grains, appears in many food products on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus. In this podcast, Dr. Natalie Riediger and her guests discuss their research using the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey dietary data as they explore dietary gluten avoidance in Canada, including who is avoiding gluten and what their dietary patterns are.

Natalie Riediger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Christa Dubesky is the President of the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association. Anne Waugh is an MSc student in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences and Research Assistant working with Dr. Riediger.

The prairies are seeing more and more pulse production as demand for environmentally sustainable plant-based foods grows. Even so, Dr. Jitendra Paliwal says pulses can be one of the most underrated crops – they are a quality protein source, highly nutritious, and require fewer resources to produce than other sources of protein. But did you know that what happens between the field and the store shelf has a lot do with quality?  Listen in to learn how his research program is maximizing the benefits of pulses, including how cancer detection technologies are revolutionizing bulk storage.

Jitendra Paliwal is a professor of Biosystems Engineering and Associate Dean (Graduate Programs and Academic) in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Over the last two decades, he has established an internationally renowned research program that exploits the opto-electronic properties of agricultural commodities for their quality monitoring and preservation.