Reading Time: 4 minutes It seems like every part of your average farm is generating data these days — but your average farmers still don’t know what to do with it all. “The more data we have, the harder it is to figure out what to do with it,” said Simon Knutson, agriculture technology faculty instructor at Olds College. […] Read more
College aims to tame the data beast running amok on today’s farms
Data can take farms to an entirely new level — but only if it doesn’t overwhelm you first
Satellite tracking of cows still a work in progress
The potential is big but cold, monitoring frequency, and price are issues, Alberta pilot finds
Reading Time: 3 minutes Oyen producer Heather Mundt has been keeping an eye on her eight high-tech heifers since fitting them with GPS-enabled smart tags last September. Despite some setbacks, she remains excited about what the technology has to offer, she said. Mundt and husband Brenton are part of a pilot project testing the Australian-made Ceres Tag. Unlike other […] Read more
Canada lays out $9.1 billion roadmap to meet 2030 climate targets
About $1 billion earmarked for new or expanded ag programs
Reuters — Canada released its first real roadmap to meeting 2030 climate targets on Tuesday, laying out detailed plans and $9.1 billion in new spending to cut planet-warming carbon emissions after years failing to meet its goals. The Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) is the first time Canada has had a comprehensive plan, rather than just […] Read more
Prizes put up to develop year-round berry production in Canada
Weston Foundation's new challenge backed with $33 million
A philanthropic foundation focused on improving public health now wants to improve diets by finding ways to juice up Canada’s home-grown fruit supplies. The Weston Family Foundation on Tuesday pledged $33 million over six years for what it calls the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a prize challenge pitting ideas against ideas with the goal of extending […] Read more
Using the stuff of stars to make food safer and boost germination
Cold plasma can reduce micro-organisms on seed surfaces while improving germination
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s the stuff of stars, lightning bolts, and the aurora borealis — and now, Alberta researchers are finding uses for plasma a little closer to home. “There are so many applications for plasma in agriculture,” said M.S. Roopesh, assistant professor of food safety and sustainability engineering at the University of Alberta. “We have been doing a […] Read more
Too much red tape in gene editing, says expert
That’s stifling advances and fuelling public skepticism, says American professor
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Regulations on gene editing of animals are fuelling negative public perceptions of the technology and stifling innovation in the livestock sector, according to an expert in animal genomics and biotechnology. “I predict there’s going to be a targeted activist campaign against gene editing in food production for a number of reasons,” Alison […] Read more
High speed internet is finally on its way, say governments
Broadband projects to be announced soon, work to start in spring
Reading Time: < 1 minute The province and Ottawa say the long-awaited broadband expansion for rural Alberta will see “shovels in the ground” when the construction season gets underway this spring. Ottawa is matching the province’s $150-million pledge to expand broadband in rural, remote and Indigenous communities in Alberta. The two governments have agreed to jointly “select and move forward […] Read more
Olds College, USask working together on ag-tech research
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College is partnering up with the University of Saskatchewan on agricultural technology research. The two schools recently signed a five-year memorandum of understanding “to collaborate in joint activities related to automation and increased incorporation of digital data in agriculture.” That will include a working relationship between Olds College’s Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production […] 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
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
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
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
