In its second production estimate for the year, Statistics Canada believes this year’s harvest will result in a record corn harvest. It’s projected there will be 14.5 million tonnes of grain corn harvested this fall, up 2.6% from 2017. The increase in production is the result of a combination of increased harvested area (+2.4%) from… Read more »
Category: Technology
DeLaval’s V300 voluntary milking system features precision, full connectivity
Attendees of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, at Woodstock, ON, were treated this week to North America’s first look at DeLaval’s VMS V300 in action. RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin was there, and spoke with Francisco Rodriquez, DeLaval marketing manager, robotic milking/feeding, to get a full run-down on what the new voluntary milking system has on offer. Rodriquez… Read more »
Wheat School: Smart(phone) help for cereal aphid scouting
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) has, until now, never developed an app. Until now, that is, with the launch of a new app called CAM. The Cereal Aphid Manager (CAM) is the first app ever developed by AAFC. Dale Leftwich, RealAgriculture’s Saskatchewan field editor, met with Tyler Wist, field crop entomology research scientist with AAFC,… Read more »
Smart Ag commercializing an aftermarket driverless tractor kit
An aftermarket kit that turns a regular tractor into an autonomous machine made its Farm Progress Show debut in Boone, Iowa this week. Smart Ag, based in Ames, Iowa, has developed a software platform and kit for controlling a tractor without a driver. The first application for the platform, called AutoCart, automates a grain cart… Read more »
South West Ag Partners sells Veritas Farm Management
The news South West Ag Partners, the Chatham-based ag input and grain dealer, has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiary Veritas Farm Management to Deveron UAS, a drone-derived data company. The details The sale includes South West Ag Partners’ 100 percent share of Veritas Farm Management Inc., but this is a separate deal from… Read more »
Automation is changing modern farming
Agriculture in the modern age is changing rapidly. Rising global population and shifting trade policies affect the pricing, supply chain, and delivery of food products. Meanwhile, consumer preferences, especially in western countries, are shifting toward organic and sustainably-produced products and produce that require more attention, data, and labour. These growing and changing demands need to… Read more »
PAMI takes bin sensors to a whole new level
When bin sensors first came along it was a huge improvement over simply shoving a metal rod through the bin door in some ways. Because sensors are tethered though, you still end up with a linear — rather than a randomly distributed —set of measurements. This means you are not actually measuring a good portion… Read more »
BIXS updates name ahead of going public
Cattle traceability platform BIXS is getting a rebrand ahead of its parent Business Information Exchange Systems (BIXS) moving forward on plans to go public in late 2018. BIXSco Inc. announced this month that the company has rebranded as BIX Systems, comprised of Viewtrak Technologies and BIXSco Inc., as they work on first round fund-raising with… Read more »
City kids connect farmers to consumers in ‘Before the Plate’
What do you get when you connect two ‘city kid’ filmmakers, a world-class chef, and nine farmers and their families? You get Before The Plate, a genuine behind-the-kitchen-door, on-the-farm look at how food is produced in Canada, and the passion and commitment chefs and farmers apply to their craft. The driving force behind the film… Read more »
Xarvio launches weed identification app
What if you could just point your phone at a weed and the phone would tell you what you were looking at? At one time it was a huge breakthrough to be able to take a picture of a weed and send a text message to an agronomist. It still is in fact, but sometimes… Read more »
EU’s top court rules new biotech techniques are GMO
A ruling by the European Union’s (EU) top court states that food produced by a series of new biotechnology breeding techniques, such as CRISPR, should be considered genetically modified organisms (GMO). This ruling means the specific food or food ingredient resulting from these gene-editing techniques falls under the EU’s strict regulations and restrictions on GMO. Any… Read more »
Corn School: Ethanol powers the Honda Indy
Why is ethanol important to agriculture, the environment, and consumers? On this episode of the Corn School, RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin travels to the Honda Indy in Toronto for a firsthand look at how Ontario grain farmers are reaching out to consumers to increase understanding of biofuels and the role farmers play in powering cars in the… Read more »
Drones could make crop research 10 times more efficient
Every farmer doesn’t need to own and operate a drone for UAV technology to have a positive impact on their farm. That’s the message Scott Ditschun shares with farmers when he discusses how Bayer CropScience is employing drones in its agronomic and product research. He says UAV technology could effectively increase Bayer’s field research efficiency by… Read more »
Yes, you can build your own autonomous tractor
Many situations have two scenarios: one where a problem is looking for a technology, or the other where technology exists and is looking for a problem to solve. In the case of farming, often it’s the problem that comes first, but when it comes to autonomy, the technology has been leaps and bounds ahead of… Read more »
Corn School: Aqua-Till trades coulter for water jet
Ever consider replacing your planter disc openers with high-pressured water jets? The concept is called aqua-till. The idea has been pioneered by the South Australian NoTill Farmers Association (SANTFA). Earlier this week, SANTFA research and development manager Greg Butler traveled north to Ontario to showcase the technology for farmers attending the annual FarmSmart Expo near… Read more »