Dr. Lenore Newman views food security as an existential crisis for humanity, and she believes climate change is pushing the world in a dangerous direction. “As long as we can keep the world’s food systems working, no matter what else happens, we will be okay,” she says. “But if we lose the food, chaos erupts…

A local family with a long history of generous support for UFV has come forward once again with financial contributions for student researchers in the Food and Agriculture Institute (FAI). Bruna Giacomazzi, her husband Bob Burnett, joined by her sister Gina Alary, and several other family members recently visited UFV’s Abbotsford campus to learn more…

A new partnership has launched between two of Canada’s leading agri-food research universities – the University of the Fraser Valley and the University of Guelph. Together, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at advancing new pathways for sustainable innovation within Canada’s $140 billion food and agriculture industry. The agreement names long-time collaborators Dr.…

Dedicated to creating and caring for a better berry, Dr. Eric Gerbrandt’s research takes him from the fields of his Yarrow farm to labs and conferences around the world. For this and more, Eric has been named UFV’s Distinguished Alumni Award winner for 2023. Eric has been leading the BC berry research portfolio as Research…

People in the Fraser Valley and much of B.C. endured an extremely stressful collective experience last November and early December when multiple floods occurred. Now a special project based at the University of the Fraser Valley is inviting those affected to share their experiences. The Flood Stories expressive arts contest offers an outlet for people…

This is what research looks like at UFV: pairing children with the elderly as dance partners, exploring cellular agriculture and indoor farming, collecting and preserving South Asian settlers' stories, and an innovative hub that fuels out-of-the-box thinking about health and social issues. Research here is different. It is impactful. It is curious and creative. It…

The heartbeat of the Fraser Valley can be found in the farmlands that encircle the region and through the farmers who grow some of the world’s best vegetables, berries, dairy products, and meats. While the art of producing food has been perfected by many of these farmers, there are admitted knowledge gaps in the way…

Sharing stories can be a way of healing, and a creative project offered by the UFV Food and Agriculture Institute is giving people affected by the devastating floods of November 2021 a way to share their experiences. Dr. Michelle Superle, who is an assistant professor of English at UFV, a published writer, a research associate…

Practise what you preach. That’s the approach UFV has continuously taken after making sustainability a top priority by aligning with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and forming partnerships and initiatives with students and different departments. Whether it is dropping plastic bags or implementing solar panels, UFV is actively seeking and implementing new ways of…

The UFV Communications team has created a 30-minute podcast called Get to Know, where you can get to know (see what we did there?) some of UFV's most interesting minds through candid discussions -- exploring their areas of expertise and gaining a glimpse of who they are when they're not at UFV.  Our first guest…

Monica Allemeersch is used to ferrying her kids around to after-school activities, but on November 15 they went for the commute of a lifetime, fleeing from the flood zone in her truck. Along for the ride was Monica’s mother-in-law, who was scheduled for hip surgery the next day. All of them were escaping from rising…

Gagan Khakh traveled by tractor the first time he returned to his family’s farm on the Sumas Prairie after being evacuated 48 hours earlier. A truck wouldn’t have cut it. Catastrophic flooding had not only forced road closures in all directions, but had also displaced hundreds of farmers and residents in the area.  When Gagan,…

The next edition in CityAge’s Future of Food series will look at how leading regions are driving strategies to foster and attract talent and build amazing companies. And how to give our entrepreneurs the skills that can build global market share. Event Themes: Case studies in how regions are accelerating the growth of food startups…

Growing up on a small Yarrow farm planted the seed. Unwavering commitment bore the fruit. Now with her incredible 4.24 GPA, Shelby Klassen has earned UFV’s 2020 Governor General’s Bronze Medal as the highest-achieving student graduating from a diploma program — in this case, Agriculture Technology. “I’ve always been passionate about growing food, knowing where…

Lenore Newman, UFV's Canada Research chair in food security and environment, has lengthy experience studying the Agricultural Land Commission and Agricultural Land Reserve and the impact of their 43-year history in BC. Now she will have a chance to weigh in on its future as a member of a goverment-appointed independent commission that will review…