Reading Time: 3 minutes “When we go to Mars, we will have to grow our own food.” Canadian physician, engineer and former astronaut Robert Thirsk made that comment when asked a question on the preservation of seed at the Canadian Beef Industry Virtual Conference in late August. Since a space vessel cannot carry enough food to fly to, and then conduct […] Read more
Schoepp: Growing food in space could spark big changes on Earth
Scientists are looking at how to grow food on Mars and their research could change the food sector here
Drone tech’s next big target? Insect pest management
There are multiple potential future applications for drone tech in the works
Reading Time: 2 minutes Drones keep getting smaller and smaller, while their potential applications keep getting bigger and bigger. And now unmanned aircraft systems are taking on some of the world’s biggest small problems: insect pests. From crop-munching caterpillars to disease-transmitting mosquitoes, insects that threaten crops, ecosystems, and public health are increasingly being targeted with new pest-management strategies that […] Read more
Government cash offered for new technology
Reading Time: < 1 minute The new Farm Technology Program is accepting applications to support adoption of technology to minimize waste, optimize efficiency, and encourage adoption of best management practices in farm security. This 50-50 cost-share program provides incentives on new technologies that are commercially available and already demonstrated under Alberta conditions. Two streams are available. The Farm Technology stream […] Read more
Hay-starved Prairies fertile ground for online scammers
At least $64,000 lost in Alberta alone, RCMP says
High demand, scarce supplies and rising prices for hay and other feeds due to this summer’s drought on the Prairies have made a market for online scammers, RCMP warn. The urgency driving such transactions may cause ranchers, farmers and farm workers to make purchases “without taking time to properly verify or research production sources,” Alberta […] Read more
Deere’s U.S. workers on strike after rejecting deal
Reuters — Thousands of Deere and Co. workers began a strike on Thursday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) said, days after overwhelmingly rejecting a six-year labour contract that was agreed on with the tractor maker. Earlier this month, the world’s largest farm equipment maker and the UAW union reached an agreement after weeks of negotiation […] Read more
CNH to temporarily shut several plants in Europe
Eight-day shutdown due to supply disruptions
Reuters — Italian-American vehicle maker CNH Industrial said Wednesday it will temporarily shut several of its European agricultural, commercial vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities due to the disruptions of procurement of components, including semiconductors. The maker of farm machinery, Iveco commercial vehicles, construction equipment and powertrains plans to shut the concerned plants for eight working […] Read more
Kubota to buy autosteer maker AgJunction
All-cash deal worth about $91 million
Autosteer and ag equipment guidance system maker AgJunction is poised to sell itself to farm equipment maker Kubota Corp. in a $91 million all-cash deal. Publicly-traded AgJunction, which is registered in Calgary but based at Scottsdale, Ariz., said Thursday its board has unanimously approved Kubota’s 75-cents-per-share proposal and recommended shareholders vote in favour. AgJunction would […] Read more
Cargill, ADM sell GrainBridge to ag software firm Bushel
'Network effect' expected in grains sector
An online service farmers use to manage grain sales with ADM’s elevators and processing plants across Canada — along with Cargill and ADM elevators in the U.S. — is under new ownership. ADM and Cargill, the two major U.S.-based agribusinesses that set up GrainBridge in 2019, announced Tuesday they’ve sold it to Bushel, a Fargo, […] Read more
Layering on digital data
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College Smart Farm has received a $300,000 donation from BASF Digital Farming for HyperLayer data concept. This process collects and analyzes several layers of data from across the Smart Farm’s 2,800 acres. “It centres around compiling topographical data, detailed soil nutrient and moisture mapping, multi-spectral and hyper-spectral imagery, yield data, and other layers of […] Read more
Lakeland opens its latest new facility at Vermilion campus
New ag tech centre has state-of-the-art data collection and analysis lab along with a ‘makerspace’ area
Reading Time: < 1 minute Lakeland College has officially opened its new Agriculture Technology Centre, saying it will put students and researchers “at the forefront of the high-tech advancements in agriculture.” And high tech has become a must-have, says college president and CEO Alice Wainwright-Stewart. “Without technological advancements, traditional agriculture can’t keep up with the demands of today’s world,” Wainwright-Stewart […] Read more