Small changes in agriculture seek big results

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This article was published 07/11/2024 (514 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a giant grain bin.

But the Hive Motherbin, as it’s called, is more than just a larger-than-usual storage container propped in the middle of a field. It’s a boon for productivity — at least, that’s what researchers hope.

“(It’s) a huge efficiency change,” said Leanne Koroscil, Innovation Farms manager at the Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative (EMILI).

She spoke on a panel at EMILI’s fifth agriculture conference Thursday in Winnipeg. Attendees learned about the sector’s productivity and innovation.

EMILI trials new agricultural technology. While on stage, Koroscil was joined by representatives from similar Canadian entities, called “smart farms.”

The group is staring down the face of slowed agricultural innovation. Meantime, Canada’s population has grown, more locals are experiencing food insecurity and the United States is shifting towards protectionism, impacting global trade.

So the grain bin — it’s a big deal, Koroscil explained.

It halves the need for combine operators and truck drivers during harvest by acting as a central, portable storage unit, reducing the arduous process of moving grain throughout the field, Koroscil said.

Elmer’s Manufacturing built the product and demonstrated it at EMILI’s Innovation Farms site this year. The bin was one of two in North America. Often, companies scale their products after testing them at Innovation Farms.

“When I hear the stories about smart farms and bringing in different ideas … I’m really excited about that,” said Craig Klemmer, Farm Credit Canada manager of thought leadership.

He spoke to a crowd of some 260 people Thursday. He outlined a two decade-long stagnation, then decline in Canadian agricultural productivity.

Productivity is measured by looking at operational inputs — money, labour and so on — versus outputs. The goal is to increase output by becoming more efficient, Klemmer shared.

“We want to be more productive on the same amount of land and grow more food and have more high value outputs — that’s such an important priority,” Jacqueline Keena, EMILI managing director, later stated.

Klemmer pictures “a whole bunch of small changes” contributing to increased productivity. New management practices, seed technology and resource use are among the routes to try, he said.

In Ottawa, autonomous tractors are rolling through Area X.O. Robotics, drones and artificial intelligence are also being tested, noted business development director Susanne Cork.

Weeds are getting blasted by lasers at RHA Ventures in Ontario. At Olds College in Alberta, researchers are collecting data to create farm-specific predictive algorithms.

“I’m a huge believer that Canadian agriculture — our farmers, our engineers, our scientists … really are the best in the world,” said Joe Dales, who represented RHA Ventures, a 2,000-acre cash crop operation and smart farm. “It’s great we’re having this innovation … (but) why not? That’s on us.”

One of the biggest challenges for innovative startups is funding, Dales noted. He’s watched businesses put “sweat, blood and tears” into their firms but run out of money.

Another hurdle is gaining farmers’ trust, Koroscil highlighted. Producers often have advisers they’ve trusted for decades and are inundated with sales pitches.

Smart farms are around to de-risk new products — showing such products work — but still, EMILI is a relatively new venture gaining traction.

“We’re not asking them to trust us,” Keena said. “We’re saying, ‘Hey, look at the results,’ and it’s from a commercial operation.”

EMILI is an unbiased perspective, Koroscil added, noting its not selling any products.

“I think there’s a lot of operations that are doing things the way they (do) because that’s the way it’s always been done,” Klemmer reflected.

Across Canada — and across sectors — the country has seen no productivity growth in recent years, a March Bank of Canada report outlined.

There’s a need to ramp up productivity as a buffer against future threats that could drive inflation higher, like global trade tensions, changing demographics and the economic impacts of climate change, the report stated.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com