The following is being sent on behalf of Yvonne Lawley:

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The steering committee for the new Prairie Crops and Soils Research Facility met last week with the team of architects. Mary Meleshko and Yvonne Lawley, who are representing the department on this committee, need input from the technicians and academics that will be drying grain samples in this new facility to meet your needs. To provide this needed input, please join us for a meeting on Thursday February 15^th at 10:30 in Rm 310 Plant Science. Every lab group that works with grain samples should send at least one person to attend this meeting. If no representative can attend, please email written comments to Yvonne and Mery ahead of the meeting for items 1 and 2 below.

During the meeting we will be asking for input on:

1. The type of grain drying system that would best meet your programs needs:

1. Traditional grain drying beds like we have in the existing point facility that are set up year round.

2. In-ground air drying floor (similar to the floor of a large grain bin) that would dry bags of grain within perforated plastic bins (to reduce transferring samples multiple times) 

3. Mobile grain drying beds that get setup and taken down during peak grain drying periods. 

2. An estimate of the number of drying beds (a) or bins (b) that each program would ideally require within the new facility

3. Time permitting, we will also ask for input on other upcoming decisions for the steering committee

1. Seed storage needs for treated seeds (bags and envelopes of seed) in the seed treatment room

2. Soil drying needs

3. dust collection station needs in the processing room

4. review of equipment list for facility

Yvonne Lawley

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Dr. Yvonne Lawley
Associate Professor of Agronomy and Cropping Systems
Department of Plant Science
University of Manitoba

222 Agriculture Building
66 Dafoe Rd
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
(Tel) 204-474-6504
(Fax) 204-474-7528

yvonne_lawley@umanitoba.ca