Reading Time: 6 minutes From his desk in San Diego, former farm manager turned corporate investor Arama Kukutai has been pitched 822 times in the last year by farmers, ag scientists and entrepreneurs, all of them wanting to use his money to grow their brainwaves into the next Apples and Amazons of the world’s $3 trillion ag market. Almost […] Read more
To play in the big leagues
Investors with deep pockets are asking, “Why aren’t Canada’s ag entrepreneurs taking the world by storm?” Now they think they’ve figured out how to join in making it happen
Probing drought stress in corn
The potential for measuring, modelling and helping improve production is astounding
Reading Time: 6 minutes The design and creation of a new robotic device for phenotyping plants is a double-sided boon to agriculture. On one hand, it is indicative of the enormous potential of the autonomous systems now in development for farm applications. On the other, it’s a huge leap forward for researchers and plant breeders and their ability to […] Read more
Detecting spoilage before it starts
An adaptation of cancer-screening technology offers a better and safer way to check for grain bin moisture, with a bonus of theft detection
Reading Time: 5 minutes An electromagnetic imaging technique originally designed to detect breast cancer tumours is now being adapted for a totally different use — locating spoiled grain in bins. The research project at the University of Manitoba uses electromagnetic imaging (EMI) to create a 3D profile of a bin, showing pockets of moisture which can overheat and spoil. […] Read more
Heading to MARS
This new ag robot concept uses swarms of small machines
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new research project underway in Europe may give farmers a reason to think swarms are a good thing. Far from swarms of locusts or other troublesome pests, the MARS (Mobile Agricultural Robot Swarms) project is working on creating swarms of small, autonomous robots that can seed farm fields on their own. The MARS project […] Read more
Getting started at variable rate
A new computer system may help farmers find their optimum path into precision farming
Reading Time: 7 minutes It seems nothing ever happens fast enough in our society, not with Internet connections or email replies, and not with the adoption of technology on the farm. At least, that’s the complaint from the manufacturers and service providers who say farmers just aren’t buying into precision farming fast enough. Of course, from many farmers’ points […] Read more
Friendships for your life
For more and more of us, loneliness is a serious health risk
Reading Time: 5 minutes In the farming community, being independent is a point of pride. However, too much independence is actually bad for your health if it leads to social isolation. The research is clear. Multiple studies over the past three decades have shown that loneliness kills. It’s as bad for your health as smoking, being obese, having high […] Read more
A place for community data
“Mining data isn’t a substitute for doing actual research,” warns seed company scientist
Reading Time: 7 minutes In the past five years, precision agriculture systems have begun providing an exciting opportunity to collect and pool data on factors ranging from yields to soil quality and beyond. Each data set offers greater insight into the characteristics of a field and its variability, or to its potential response to different treatments and management practices. […] Read more
Case IH offers new guidance products
Dealer-established RTK network, easier data transfer and retrofit auto-steer packages
Reading Time: < 1 minute Case IH announced early this year it is adding three new products and services to its AFS Connect product line. First, it will establish a network of dealer-supported RTK base stations across Canada and the U.S. This cellular-based guidance correction signal will be available via subscription through local dealers. The brand expects this network will […] Read more
John Deere offers new guidance receiver
Reading Time: 2 minutes John Deere has again updated its satellite guidance product line with the introduction of the StarFire 6000 receiver and new SF3 signal correction. In a June press announcement, the company claims these new product offerings will give customers “greater precision capabilities, accuracy and uptime.” “The StarFire 6000 Receiver offers a full range of differential correction […] Read more
A new era on the farm begins
We’re living at the dawn of the robot as hired farmhand
Reading Time: 6 minutes A friend has been keeping me posted by email about her trouble finding a full-time employee for the family farm in Saskatchewan. If it didn’t represent such a serious problem for the operation, the details would actually be pretty funny. A few — how do I say it? — less-than-adequate applicants are all her efforts […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
