Reading Time: 2 minutes One third of agricultural jobs could be automated in the next decade according to a recent report from the Conference Board of Canada.
A third of agricultural jobs could be automated in next decade, report says
Feds fund agriculture and food processing robotics projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal government pledged up to $5 million in funding for agriculture and food-processing robotics on Friday in hopes of addressing ongoing workforce challenges.
Robots may help grain farmers diversify
Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more
JBS to automate beef warehousing at Brooks
Packer to replace current fully manual system
Reading Time: 2 minutes International meat packer JBS has enlisted a major robotics and automation company to overhaul the warehousing system at one of Canada’s biggest beef plants. JBS Foods Canada on Friday announced a $71 million project in partnership with New Zealand-based Scott Technology, to design and build a system that can handle and store up to 85,000 […] Read more
Automated ag skills program developed for Saskatchewan workforce
Protein supercluster, U of S supporting non-profit agency's program
Reading Time: 2 minutes Corrected, May 24 — A national skills-building organization focused on connecting employers with “untapped” labour markets sets its webcams this summer on the automated and digital ag sectors. Not-for-profit organization Palette Skills has launched a new eight-week online program for Saskatchewan residents focused on automation and digitization in agricultural production and processing. The enrolment deadline […] Read more
The 4th industrial revolution begins
Mark January 4th down as one of the biggest days in your lifetime
Reading Time: 4 minutes Why January 4th? Well, John Deere, the world’s biggest ag equipment brand, announced that day it is building a fully autonomous 8R tractor for the North American marketplace this year. This is a really big deal. “Autonomy is no longer just a concept or a demo,” said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at Deere. “It’s […] Read more
Low-clearance spraying
Startup company is beginning with weed mapping by drones, but sees a future for spraying by swarms of mini crop dusters
Reading Time: 4 minutes A well-funded Regina-based robotics and artificial intelligence firm sees a future in spraying with drones, potentially cutting herbicide use by up to 95 per cent. In the meantime, it’s working on a system of conventional spraying using information gathered by a drone survey. Dan McCann, founder and CEO of Precision AI, claims conventional spraying results […] Read more
The robots are here, and ready to weed your field
Robotics has started revolutionizing even the toughest jobs like weed control. Horticulture crops are first, but row crop robots are coming too
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the 20-plus years of precision agriculture, most field jobs have evolved so they can incorporate some level of data retrieval, prescription mapping, overhead imagery, or specific in-field applications like auto-steer and downforce components. But not all field jobs. Precision ag had seemed like it would also lead to site-specific weeding, but this never gained […] Read more
Deere, Bear Flag aim to automate tractors as ‘fast as possible’
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters – U.S. tractor maker Deere & Co said on Thursday it would buy tech startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million, with the goal of developing over the next year systems Deere can sell to allow farm tractors to operate without a human driver in the cab. “We are effectively in market with real […] Read more
Farm automation likely adopted in high-value crops first
Ontario crop service company creates agriculture robotic division
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The growing number of new crop automation products coming to market are finding their first uses in high-value crops, like vegetables or grapes. Several farm robots featured at the recent AgRobotics and Automation event hosted by the RH Accelerator focused on higher-value crops instead of corn, soybeans or wheat. The interest is […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
