The Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences is the gateway to the future of agri-food knowledge. The Faculty works to provide leadership in education and research by advancing the knowledge and understanding of science related to production, processing, preservation and marketing of food and other agricultural products consistent with a dependable supply of safe and nutritious food; the viability of the agri-food industry and the rural economy; and the conservation of the natural resource base and enhancement ofenvironmental quality.

The Faculty's partnerships extend beyond the Canadian border to countries such as China, India and Uruguay. The Faculty has a long standing relationship with organizations such as the Canadian International Development Agency, the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada, and the International Development Research Centre to conduct research and provide teaching assistance at agricultural institutions in developing countries.

Ryan Cardwell

Cardwell's areas of interest are food security, international trade and food policy.  His research projects include investigating the impact of high and volatile food prices on food aid, in collaboration with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Cardwell's research focuses on the effects of international trade agreements on food aid, trade flows and intellectual property rights. Recent research topics include the substitutability of food aid commodities in the face of high food prices, the effects of theWorld Trade Organization’s TRIPS Agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights in developing countries, and the political-economy determinants of government policies that subsidize agricultural industries.

He is an editorial board member for the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics and the current president of the Canadian Council of the International Association of Agricultural Economists.

Martin Entz

Martin Entz’s areas of focus lie with agronomic practices, soil science in relation to pesticides. Dr. Entz works on sustainable agricultural systems together with fellow researchers, students, technicians, farmers, and interested citizens.

Annemieke Farenhorst

Dr. Farenhorst and her team’s main research objective is to strengthen policies, programs and performance measures that help protect Canada’s land and water resources. In this regard they focus on the environmental fate of agrichemicals such as pesticides, natural steroidal estrogens and antibiotics.

Dr. Farenhorst has experience using community-based research methods through her leadership of a CIDA-Tier 2 project.  There are about 350 small-scale farm families’ in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua involved in this project and they work with project investigators at four Universities. Together, we created demonstration plots that resulted in improved practices which lead to better quality foods being produced. These improved practices included reduced pesticide use and, in Honduras, pesticide container recycling depots that were implemented so that empty containers could be properly disposed of with increased economic benefits. Proper disposal has significantly reduced the likelihood of empty pesticide containers being disposed of in surface waters or public wells, or being used to store food and drinking water. The economic benefit is that crushed containers can be used as aggregate in cement.

Starting in September 2011, Dr. Farenhorst is the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the Prairie region. This NSERC Chair is an important focal point for initiatives pertaining to gender equity and diversity in the Prairies. Its overall aim is to create new opportunities for women to grow, develop, and provide leadership in the fields of science and engineering. Among these opportunities will be outreach programs for Aboriginal Peoples of Northern communities created in collaboration with the leaders of those communities. Farenhorst and her research team will participate in the CHRR's proposed water rights symposium, helping with its organization, and in the delivery of its thematic areas, particularly with regard to building the capacity of grade 8-12 educational outreach programs to teach that water is an holistic health right.

Rick Holley

Rick Holley is currently Professor, Department of Food Science, University of Manitoba. He has published over 140 papers in peer reviewed journals, a book and book chapters. Research interests include microbial ecology of meats, use of natural antimicrobials in food , and zoonotic pathogens in animals and the environment. He is a former head of the Department of Food Science and chair of the Canada Committee on Food. He is presently chair of the International Standards Organization Technical Committee 34 for Food and Agriculture in Canada and is a member of NSERC, Killam Research Foundation and CRC committees in Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and recently received awards for research accomplishments from the CIFST, the University of Manitoba, and the Canadian Meat Council.

Francis Zvomuya

Dr. Francis Zvomuya is an associate soil science professor at the University of Manitoba. He conducts Prairie research on soil and water resource management as it relates to the exploration of conventional oil and natural gas and disposal of wastewater and livestock manure on land. He is also recognized for his exceptional expertise in applied statistics.

Dr. Zvomuya is contributing to a drinking water project in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation as part of the university's Water Rights Research Consortium.

His projects include chemically-enhanced phytoremediation of multi-trace element contaminated organic soils using native plants and high biomass crops; remediation of hexavalent chromium-contaminated water using chemical reductants and synthetic oxides of iron; in-situ remediation of decommissioned municipal lagoons using wetland and traditional phytoremediation approaches; and dissipation of veterinary antimicrobials in the environment.

Other recent or ongoing projects include characterization of nutrient dynamics and fertilizer value of organic and other byproducts (e.g., anaerobically-digested manure, liquid manure-derived struvite); drilling waste (from the petroleum industry) management on native prairie; solid/liquid separation of liquid swine manure; and land application of wastewater as a disposal option.