What if you could take a scan of your grain bin and know the condition of each bushel inside that bin? And what if you could do this even if the bin held 500,000 or even a million bushels? Grain Viz has taken technology originally designed for breast cancer research and brought it to the… Read more »
Category: Technology
Data, artificial intelligence, and robots: what does disruption look like in agriculture?
The term “disrupter” is thrown around a lot. The term is often overused and misused, but it can kick off an exciting conversation when you have someone who actually understands the concept. That is just what happened when Marty Seymour, director, FCC industry and stakeholder relations joined host Shaun Haney at the RealAg Radio booth… Read more »
From lab to land: A look inside Syngenta’s Seedcare Institute
It’s not often a company opens the doors to its multi-million dollar seed research centre, so when you get the chance for a tour, you take it. Last month, Syngenta held its media summit which wrapped up by taking both Canadian and American agricultural journalists on a trip to Stanton, Minnesota, to check out their… Read more »
How susceptible is your farm data to hackers?
When we think about cyber hacking, things like election tampering or credit card theft likely come to mind. A recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, however, focused on the very real threat of breaches and hacking of precision agriculture data. As tough as it has been for some to even conceptualize what data being… Read more »
Mastitis TV: Dairy farmers, researchers turning to social media for knowledge sharing
When it comes to connecting with other farmers and researchers, there’s no substitute for being there. Just consider attendance at events such as Crop Connect in Manitoba or Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Ontario, and that’s clear. But when producers can’t physically be at an event because they’re tied up with their herd, they can… Read more »
UFA announces half-a-million dollar donation to Olds College
It was an exciting day at Olds College as the United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative (UFA), announced it was making a hefty donation to create the UFA Innovation Lab located at Olds College Smart Ag Innovation Centre. Part of the $500,000 in funds will also go to support the college’s Smart Farm. “Not only is… Read more »
Non-hybrids with hybrid vigour just one goal of biotech research
The joke in Saskatoon is that you come for the weather, but stay because you can’t get a flight out. Kidding aside, Saskatoon is actually a hub of biotech research and development with findings and products with the potential to benefit farmers all over the world. Because of this, Global Biotech Week is an event… Read more »
Record corn, less soy and canola, says StatsCan’s satellite survey
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 »
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 »