Reading Time: 2 minutes Former investors in Manitoba-based ag tech firm Farmers Edge have asked the B.C. Supreme Court to certify a class action lawsuit against the company, former leaders and its main shareholder.
Former investors seek class action lawsuit against Farmers Edge
Plaintiffs allege they received misleading information prior to the company's 2021 IPO
Ag tech venture capital stays on sidelines
Entrepreneurs need patience, more plan to achieve profitability to unlock investment
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture venture capital investment was an outlier in 2023, as it increased slightly over 2022, according to the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA). However, that news belied pessimism on the state of ag tech at the recent Agri Tech Venture Forum in Toronto. The forum heard that the availability of capital for agriculture technology entrepreneurs has dried up significantly compared to the heady days of investment growth during the pandemic years.
Smart farm competition encourages farmers to adopt technology
Competition will serve as opportunity to create and develop smart farm networks
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) is seeking applications for a competition geared toward creating or developing new smart farm networks. Funding under this initiative will support collaborative on-farm tech innovations in hopes encouraging farmers to adopt emergent agriculture technology. CAAIN receives funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to address challenges […] Read more
Farmers Edge considering privatization
The tech firm is evaluating a pennies on the dollar share buyback from its majority holder
Reading Time: < 1 minute Fewer than three years after going public, Manitoba-based tech firm Farmers Edge is considering a privatization proposal.
Our ‘Amazon moment’
As Wade Barnes sees it, farms and farm suppliers can either embrace today’s tech disruption, or get ready to sell to those who will
Reading Time: 5 minutes More ag companies are testing the winds of change. They believe agriculture is on the cusp of another technological revolution, this time fueled by digitization and online connectivity. This revolution will bring risk, and it will bring opportunity. And, for sure, it will bring disruption. It will change what it takes to be successful, both […] Read more
Field imagery much more just a pretty picture
Overhead imagery can transform how you farm, but it’s essential to choose the right technology — and commit to it
Reading Time: 8 minutes Precision agriculture has had a rough go since it was first conceptualized in the mid-1990s with the advent of the yield monitor. At that point, “variable rate” became part of agriculture’s vocabulary, followed by zone mapping, aerial imagery and a growing list of technologies now available to growers. Yet there’s still reluctance to rely too […] Read more
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?
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
Into the future
Celebrated ag tech guru Scott Shearer sees a profitable path ahead, together with some potential bumps
Reading Time: 4 minutes While it’s not exactly as futuristic as 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s no longer such a big stretch to imagine the day when a single operator anywhere in the world can remotely control 25 to 30 tractors, and when our crops effectively send us emails letting us know what they need. As professor and chair […] Read more
Our data road map
Is the ADT initiative in the U.S. the right way to put Canada’s farmers in control of their data too?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada is awash in agricultural data that’s not being used to its full potential by farmers, researchers, or the government. Now, work has begun to try and improve that situation. “There’s a lot of information that exists electronically, but we need to give farmers control of their data so they can use it and flow […] Read more
The ag-robots are here
Get set for the biggest change since the invention of the tractor
Reading Time: 6 minutes Standing in front of a fully autonomous T8 tractor, New Holland’s vice-president, Bret Lieberman summed up what the company is telling its people in just two sentences at this year’s U.S. Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. “This industry has evolved considerably over the last 100 years,” Lieberman said. “I don’t think that any of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
