Reading Time: 5 minutes Farming and farmland conservation sometimes seem at odds with each other — a win for one is seen as a loss for the other. After all, taking land out of production for conservation purposes is seen as a loss of productive farmland, while the ecological community sometimes views intensive ag production as a threat to […] Read more
The search for a ‘win-win’ solution to unprofitable acres
Precision agriculture meets precision conservation in ongoing profitability mapping research
Still just taking pretty pictures? Drones could be making you money
It’s taken a while but more and more producers are discovering ways to boost their profits with drones
Reading Time: 7 minutes Mike Barrett was trying to find a practical use for a pricey toy when he decided to fly his drone over his feedlot to count his cattle. That was when his purchase paid off. “With the average gain of the cattle, we easily paid for the drone in the first year that we counted that […] Read more
‘Clean’ tech adoption up for federal funding
Provinces and territories can apply starting April 1 for chunks of a three-year, $25 million federal fund to support programs that encourage on-farm adoption of precision ag tools or use of renewables from ag waste. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Monday launched the fund, to flow through what’s dubbed the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) […] Read more
Olds College to become a hub for ‘smart agriculture’
A new $32-million institute is being created to put the college on the bleeding edge of high-tech agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes You’ve heard about precision agriculture. Now get ready for what leading educators and thinkers are calling the next step beyond precision ag — smart agriculture. Smart agriculture, as it is defined today, is the optimization of technology and science for the efficient use of land and water for both economic and environmental sustainability. If it […] Read more
How the new Werklund Institute will work
The plan includes a business incubator, ‘thought leader,’ mentorship program, and a new approach to teaching
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Werklund Agriculture Institute is currently in its pilot stages and expected to start up in 2019. It will feature four key components: Werklund Growth Centre: a hub for companies, entrepreneurs, investors and students to access college land and facilities for development, scaling, and demonstration of smart agriculture technologies, products, and services. This is something […] Read more
Doing your own research? Then keep it simple
You can collect lots of data but much of it may be of no use — or worse, it might lead you down the wrong path
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s a big world of information out there today, more so than ever before. When it comes to precision ag, universities, applied research institutions, governments, and companies all have their own research recommending everything from the best VRT settings to the right seed depth in specific soil profiles. And all those reams and reams of […] Read more
Farmers Edge expands satellite imagery offering
Farmers Edge says it’s making satellite imagery a practical and affordable agronomic tool for farmers through a new strategic partnership with Planet, the company with the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites. “We think this will be game-changing,” Farmers Edge president and CEO Wade Barnes said in an interview Oct. 3. “I think it’s going to […] Read more
Greig: Farmer trust key to big data’s future
The marketplace for precision agriculture technology is sorting itself out, but it still has a way to go before it will be mature and have predictable uses for farmers, says a U.S. agriculture economist. Dr. Keith Coble, chair of the Mississippi State University’s department of agricultural economics, says we’re in the “overexuberance” phase of technology […] Read more
Most Prairie farmers taking a wait-and-see attitude to precision ag
A new online survey found just about everyone uses GPS but less than half use advanced imaging and variable rate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie farmers are casting glances at precision ag, but not embracing it yet, a new survey suggests. The online 42-question survey commissioned by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada didn’t get a big response — 261 producers participated — but it offers a glimpse into how farmers view the highly touted technology. The poll found adoption of […] Read more
High-frequency tags: Easier data reading, happier cattle
Next generation of RFID readers can read cattle tags without having to use a squeeze chute
Reading Time: 2 minutes Using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track and collect information on cattle is fast becoming standard practice. However, the process can be painfully slow and inefficient. But researchers may have found a way to change that. A three-year project conducted by SAIT’s Glen Kathler tested the ability of ultra-high-frequency RFID tag readers to process […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
