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The next decade could see a return to smaller fields due to the higher-intensity management made possible by driverless technology such as the DOT.
Crops, Equipment

Changes in agriculture are coming your way

These production challenges mean we’ll all have to stay sharp through the 2020s

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Reading Time: 4 minutes Just because we can predict many of the production challenges heading our way doesn’t mean they’ll be easier to avoid, or that they’ll be easier to manage. In fact, by the time the new decade starts winding down in 2030, Canadian producers will have their hands just as full as they are today, if not […] Read more
The main atrium at John Deere’s new ISG R&D building in Des Moines, Iowa, is the hub of a unique work environment for engineers and scientists in tech and robotics.
Equipment, Machinery

John Deere builds a new home for rare talent

The green brand is on the lookout for 'unicorns' in high-technology fields, and with farm backgrounds

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Reading Time: 6 minutes In today’s high-technology world, a new startup tech firm with the potential to go really big is often described as a unicorn. That term is also used to describe a software engineer or skilled programmer with exactly the right background and combination of skills to drive a company forward, simply because both of those are […] Read more
AGCO adds two new models with Dyna-4 “brake-to-clutch” transmissions to its MF 5700 Global Series tractor line.
Equipment, Machinery, Machinery Guide

AGCO adds to its Global Massey Ferguson tractor line

Two new 5700 Series models hit the market for 2020

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Reading Time: 2 minutes In the last couple of years, major brands have been producing utility and mid-range tractors with powershift transmissions that don’t require clutching. In October AGCO announced it, too, is adding that type of transmission to its “Global” 5700 Series Massey Ferguson tractor family. Two new models, the 100-horsepower 5710D and 111-horsepower 5711D models will join […] Read more
Dustin Burns farms in Saskatchewan and has had an autonomous field robot working on his farm this spring.

Equipment, Guide Business, Machinery

Taking autonomy into the field

Finally, self-drive technology is moving onto real farms

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Reading Time: 5 minutes If there was any doubt that how we farm is undergoing a foundational change, this should convince you that there is mammoth change on the horizon. In July the federal government pledged $49.5 million to the Alberta Innovates program to advance research and development in agricultural automation as part of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN). “The program,” said […] Read more
For Dean, Devin, Darren and father Bernie, on-farm manufacturing provides a kind of balance. But make no mistake… this is a farm first, with all the challenges that implies.
Equipment, Guide Business

Auger-steer invention drives farm family’s business success

Diversifying into manufacturing creates more opportunity for the Toews family, but there have been many lessons along the way

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Reading Time: 12 minutes It was 2008 and things just weren’t working out for Bernie Toews. From his tractor cab, he’d tried again and again to manoeuvre an auger around a tight corner on the family farm near MacGregor, an hour and a half west of Winnipeg, and it just wasn’t going to happen. Now, Toews was backing the […] Read more
How realistic is it to assess the savings for every new tool or practice on the farm?
Equipment, Guide Business

How much will that new farm technology really pay?

New tech can work wonders, but is your economic analysis a bankable guide to how it will perform on your farm?

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Reading Time: 9 minutes Like everything else in farming, it’s getting more complicated to decide which technologies to invest in for the farm. Actually, make that “much more complicated.” An effective technology strategy is a key success factor, says Purdue University professor Michael Langemeier, “Early adopters of technology often reap above-average profits.” Plus, says Langemeier, it can keep them […] Read more
Staff demonstrate how the DOT autonomous power platform connects to an implement, using the Pattison Connect sprayer.
Equipment, Machinery

Autonomous farm machinery drives out into the desert

DOT Technology Corp. holds an impressive demo day in Arizona

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Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s obvious that Norbert Beaujot invests a lot of time thinking about the coming transformation of ag machinery, and about how to explain it to the farmers who are going to be at the very centre of the action. Beaujot is founder of DOT Technology Corp. and the inventor of the DOT autonomous power platform, […] Read more
IT firms are seeing the potential in agri-food technology and are buying companies or bringing in talent.
Equipment, Guide Business

Investing in agri-food technology

“A very dismal state of affairs” is how one investor looks at Canada’s ag tech future

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Reading Time: 4 minutes San Eng thinks the agri-food technology investment climate in Canada might improve, but a “venture capital ecosystem” must develop quickly or the nation will lose out. “The people I’ve talked to are overlooking the sector — they don’t think it’s sexy enough, which is disappointing because the potential is there,” says the serial entrepreneur who […] Read more
Several factors relating to water quality can affect product performance in the field, often to the detriment of the crop.
Crops, Equipment

Keep an eye on water quality

Water can play havoc with spray performance, especially with the rise in tank mixing

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Reading Time: 5 minutes The 2019 growing season is now within sight and with it, another season’s worth of herbicide, fungicide and insecticide applications. Given the challenges that can arise with sprayers and their products, it’s worth revisiting the subject of water quality and the potential impact of factors such as temperature, hardness and pH on product performance. With […] Read more
Mixing products in the wrong order can create serious problems, particularly when time is a rare commodity.
Crops, Equipment

‘My sprayer’s a mess’

In the new era of weed resistance, your risk of a plugged tank or boom is climbing

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Reading Time: 7 minutes There may be no better phrase that symbolizes agriculture than “timing is everything.” Planting, fertilizing and harvesting are obvious fits, but the term also applies to pesticide applications, planter preparations and seed purchases. Another area where timing is important is in the mixing of chemicals, although some may argue that it’s more a matter of […] Read more

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AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending January 17, 2020.

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