We are HIRING for May-August 2024!

The Beaverlodge Research Farm employs continuing high school and post-secondary students to support research and train new agricultural professionals.  We use three student hiring streams:

1. Federal Student Work Employment Program (FSWEP) – an online application process (have resume ready to attach) that all federal departments use to seek students. Access that link: https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/srs-sre/page01.htm?poster=1&lang=en 
2. COOP/Internship Student Programs – Universities often have COOP or Internship programs. Students enrolled with a nationally accredited program should contact us directly with a resume.
3. Research Affiliate Program – also an online application process specific to our site but applicants must complete an online application as seasonal Government of Canada job postings become available.  It's best to contact us directly with a resume. 

FULL-TIME Post-Secondary students interested in working in the Insect Pest Management Program please send a resume to Jennifer.OtaniATagr.gc.ca indicating that you are available for a May 6, 2024, start date and that you have a Class 5 Driver's License. 

Find more information here About the Farm and see the types of activities IPM Students do.

Sweep-net monitoring in canola grown in the Peace River region in 2019.

City of Grande Prairie Youth Career Discovery Expo

The IPM Program participated in the 2024 Youth Career Discovery Expo in Grande Prairie AB today! Our program helped promote our field entomology research program while also describing how High School, Post-Secondary, or even Graduate students can apply to work for the Federal Student Work Employment Program (FSWEP). We talked about the Beaverlodge Research Farm which is part of the network of Agriculture and Agri-Food Research and Development Centres spread across Canada and the types of research that takes place at our Farm. 

The day-long event drew at least 2000 students from across the region! We were pleased to showcase a small portion of our insect voucher specimens (Figs. 1-2 and 4-7) using an interactive "Insect Scavenger Hunt" created by our two technicians, Amanda and Shelby!  Keen visitors were challenged to find three different insects amongst the pinned voucher specimens we brought along to view. Winners earned their very own ground beetle to take home (Figs. 3 and 8)!  We were one of the few agricultural careers to be included in this special event!

Many thanks to our program's two excellent technicians, Amanda and Shelby, and to the City of Grande Prairie for hosting this important event!  Amanda, Shelby, and Jennifer spoke with 200-some students who stopped by to talk! The most exciting part of the day was that 60 carefully curated ground beetle specimens were adopted to good homes with students who left us feeling pretty excited about Entomology! 

Here's a few photos of the day-long event at our booth! 

Figure 1. Booth, including our interactive insect scavenger hunt, is ready to go!

Figure 2. Our booth at the Youth Discovery Expo is ready to go and here's our first visitor of the day!

Figure 3. Our ground beetle "prizes" are ready and waiting to be won by visitors taking on our interactive insect scavenger hunt!

Figure 4. Standing room only by 10 am - great interest from our student visitors and some super entomological identification skills at work!

Figure 5. Shelby talking insects with students while they completed the insect scavenger hunt.

Figure 6. Amanda describing insect characteristics for the pinned voucher specimens.

Figure 7. More student visitors to our booth - we had really great interest and excellent questions!

Figure 8. We brought 70 "prize" ground beetles and, by the end of the day, 60-some were adopted to good homes by our enthusiastic student visitors!

#Entomology #Agriculture #WiSTEM #WestCdnAg #CareerOpportunities #PeaceRiverRegion #AAFC #IPM #FieldHeroes #NaturalEnemies

Permission to Access Land by AAFC's Pest Management Staff

As of 2023, Agriculture and Agri--Food Canada requires staff members to obtain signed Permission to Access from landowners. Even if verbal permission is provided, staff members are accompanied, or urgent risk is involved, AAFC staff are still required by managers to first obtain a signed form before entering a field.

Please - we need help from producers across the Peace River region to help collect the vital data that keeps our agricultural region informed and prepared to deal with insect pest risk!  

Please scan the QR code below if you are interested in finding out more about the insect pests in your fields. Technical staff working at AAFC-Beaverlodge in the IPM program (Otani) will then follow-up with you by phone or email to set up Permission to Access forms but also describe what research projects your land can contribute towards to help! 

We just pulled together a quick summary of the various biological control activities our program has contributed towards...

AAFC-STB-Alberta-Beaverlodge Research Farm (Jennifer.Otani@agr.gc.ca) – The Pest Management program is active in annual and perennial field crops grown in the Alberta and BC portions of the Peace River region (i.e., 55-59 degrees North by 117-120 degrees West). 

Historical projects include parasitoids/parasitism of Lygus spp. by Peristenus, Phasia aeneoventris; Delia spp. larvae in canola by Aleochora bilineata; coccinellid larvae by Oomyzus scaposus; cutworms in annuals and perennials grown for seed Apamea devastator, A. amputatrix, Nephelodes minians, Euxoa auxiliaris, Actebia fennica and more by various parasitoids and viruses; Coleophora deauratella and C. mayrella by Chelonus spp., Neochrysocharis formosa now placed in genus Omphale; Thymelicus lineola with zero observed parasitism over multiple years, Tychius meliloti, T. picirostris, T. stephensii with zero observed parasitism over multiple years, Hypera nigrirostris by Scambus hispae (tentative), Bathyplectes curculionis, B. exiguus; Sitodiplosis mosellana by Macroglenes penetrans, Platygaster sp., Inostemma walkeri. 

Currently, the program supports R. DeClerck-Floate (AAFC-Lethbridge) with a release and post-release data collection on common toadflax near Grande Cache AB in 2022 plus we are following-up in 2024 by (i) confirming Oulema melanpus at larval feeding sites reported in 2023 in the Peace River region, and (ii) attempting to confirm larval parasitism levels. 

Biological control topics relevant to the region needing support for the future include wheat midge parasitism, cereal leaf beetle parasitism, seed-feeding clover weevil parasitism, red clover casebearer parasitism, European skipper parasitism, plus the control of common toadflax, oxeye daisy, Canada thistle and kochia. 

Thank you to Dr. O. Lonsdale (AAFC-Ottawa) who coordinates NIS submissions and to the many taxonomists who have helped us over the years!

Fall field scouting in grasses grown for seed

Last week, a call related to damaged creeping red fescue growing near Bear Canyon triggered a conversation of things to keep in mind when heading out to scout grass fields in the Fall:

Several species of insects utilize grasses grown for seed. Compared to annual crops, perennial grasses grown for seed are typically left in production for 2-3 years (and even longer) so the soil profile is disturbed less frequently when it comes to tillage and seeding. The soil profile stability offers a unique habitat to soil-dwelling organisms. Cutworms, webworms, wireworms, and many species of beetles are just a handful of insect groups that can be found in grass seed production systems and spend large portions of their lifecycle below ground. Even though pest species can be present, natural enemies and pollinator species also inhabit grass fields grown for seed. 

More in-depth scouting information can be reviewed in the Alberta Forage Manual. This resource includes two sections describing (i) pest and (ii) beneficial species of arthropods typically present in western Canadian grass seed production systems. Download a searchable PDF copy.

Learn when and where to look in the field by reviewing these cutworm scouting tips published by the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. The PPMN has multiple cutworm-related posts archived from the past  growing seasons and you can review that list here.

If you find insect larvae, determine if it has legs, where the legs are positioned and how many legs are visible. This step helps determine if it's a cutworm, fly larva, or beetle larva. Use Figure 1 below and note how many pairs of legs and where those legs are positioned. 

Figure 1. Picture key to identifying insect larvae copied from ENTFACT-017: Recognizing Insect Larval Types by Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service.   https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef017

Estimate length of the larva. In the fall, all larvae can be very small and exceedingly difficult to find.  In fact, easily encountering larvae in the fall may mean a high density of overwintering individuals are present so live specimens should be examined by an expert. Mark areas of the field where larvae are present in fall. Additionally, prioritize the field for spring field scouting weekly through April, May and June! 

When it comes to cutworms, review this excellent Cutworm Field Guide. This resource is a searchable PDF guide to all things cutworms including descriptions and photos of different cutworm larvae, host-crop associations, and scouting tips.

Permission to Access Land by AAFC's Pest Management Staff

As of 2023, Agriculture and Agri--Food Canada requires staff members to obtain signed Permission to Access from landowners. Even if verbal permission is provided, staff members are accompanied, or urgent risk is involved, AAFC staff are required by our managers to first obtain a signed form before entering a field. The following is intended to help obtain signed forms in a timely manner to support ongoing IPM research across the Peace River region.  

Our IPM program appreciates your efforts to help US help you!

• Step 1: Make a list of Legal Land Descriptions of fields our staff are allowed to access. 
• Step 2: Download the PDF copy of the blank permission form here.
• Step 3: Fill in form and save it. Please be sure to initial AND sign the form. 
• Step 4: Please email the signed form to jennifer.otani@agr.gc.ca  
• Step 5: Please watch for follow-up email messages. Our staff needs to confirm your  contact number so we can provide updates to you. Cell numbers able to receive text messages are ideal! 

Concerned about field sanitation protocols?  So are we!  For several years, read what we've been doing when it comes to protecting the health of our region's fields! 

Need help to complete, want to send using a fax machine, OR have questions? Send a message to jennifer.otani@agr.gc.ca then watch your Inbox. 

Questions related to completing this form to support ongoing research projects conducted by our program can be directed to jennifer.otani@agr.gc.ca .

Queries or comments about AAFC's Land Access Permission policy, form content, or Branch-wide implementation as it pertains to Beaverlodge Research Farm staff can be directed to the Associate Director, Lacombe Research and Development Centre / Beaverlodge Research Farm who currently is mueen.aslam@agr.gc.ca

Field Heroes' PEST and PREDATOR PODCASTS

 The Field Heroes campaign continues to raise awareness of the role of beneficial insects in western Canadian crops. 

Real Agriculture went live with the Pest & Predators podcast series starting in 2020 and Season 4 of the popular series will be out in 2024! Review the various podcasts Jennifer Otani has recorded: 

Season 1, Episode 1: Do you know your field heroes? Jennifer Otani (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-Beaverlodge) and Shaun Haney (RealAg). Published online May 12, 2020. 

Season 2, Episode 9: Secret agents in the stubble. Jennifer Otani (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-Beaverlodge) and Shaun Haney (RealAg). Published online May 18, 2021. 

Season 3, Episode 18: Preying in the canola canopy. Jennifer Otani (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-Beaverlodge) and Shaun Haney (RealAg). Published online June 29, 2022. 

Season 4 will be released in 2024 growing season!