A group of University of Waterloo engineering graduates who first got together as a student design team to convert a Camaro into a hybrid electric vehicle has turned its talents towards improving agricultural fleet management. Their small Ontario start-up, Intelliculture, is now working to help farm profitability with intelligent, simple, and affordable telematics to help […] Read more
Simple smart technology helps fleet and spray monitoring
Keeping ahead of maintenance can help reduce downtime and repair costs on farms
Automated Guelph vertical farm supplies retailers with local, leafy greens
The newly opened farm grows crops 40 to 50 per cent faster than traditional crops
An automated vertical farm in south Guelph is now fully operational. GoodLeaf Farms has the capacity to produce 800,000 units of locally grown leafy greens for Ontario retailers — including Loblaw banners, Longo’s and Whole Foods — 12 months of the year. “It’s really unique for Canada that we can grow 365 days of the […] Read more
Canadian start-ups featured at Ag Innovation Showcase
The American event showcased Canadian companies with dairy, lighting, grain sampling and soil sensing products
A number of Canadian agriculture technology start-up companies were in the spotlight at the recent Ag Innovation Showcase. The Canadian government and Protein Industries Canada, one of the country’s five superclusters, were key sponsors of the event again this year. Why it matters: Technology is a key driver of innovation in the agri-food sector, but […] Read more
Soybeans provide greener solution for road dust suppression
Biodegradable solution is more environmentally friendly
A soy-based dust suppressant developed by researchers at North Dakota State University (NDSU) is now being commercialized and brought to market in North America. It is sprayed onto dusty areas like gravel roads, mining operations and parking lots, but since it’s biodegradable and environmentally friendly, it could also be used on agricultural operations. Why it […] Read more
Automating dairy cattle health monitoring – from the inside
Ontario inventor creates dairy cattle bolus system to monitor internal metrics
A Toronto-based start-up has developed a real-time cattle monitoring system it says will help farmers increase the efficiency of their operations. Cattle Scan’s Bovine Monitoring Bolus tracks dairy cattle health 24/7 from inside the animal to provide early alerts of potential health issues before the onset of visible symptoms. Why it matters: Earlier intervention means […] Read more
Bringing Big Data to the Canadian beef industry
Drinking station also records cattle weights accessible by device
An Irish startup with a Canadian connection has developed what it says is the world’s first completely automated livestock performance and health monitoring system. StrongBó Agritech’s BovineHub collects and analyzes live data through its automated weighing system that company founder and CEO Micheál McInerney believes has the potential to reshape modern beef production. Its trials […] Read more
Agriculture technology incubators evolve during pandemic
There’s greater interest in funding food security and agriculture automation
Global farm technology investment funding hit an all-time high in 2019 of $4.9 billion U.S. According to the 2020 Farm Tech investing report by AgFunder, that’s an increase of 6.8 per cent over the year before, and a rise of 370 per cent since AgFunder first began tracking these statistics in 2012. And although the […] Read more
Regional vaccine helps manage swine influenza
The Ontario-specific vaccine is made up of strains commonly seen in the area
A preventive influenza vaccine for pigs was launched in Ontario last year. Now, new data supports anecdotal evidence from the industry that the regional vaccine is making a difference in managing an increasingly virulent disease. Piglets born to vaccinated sows showed higher average daily gain, lower mortality and fewer clinical signs of disease, according to […] Read more
Mobile genetic testing technology wins Guelph pitch competition
Harvest Genomics aims to provide on-location genetic testing of food
A Guelph-based start-up with plans to bring mobile genetic testing to agriculture was the winner of the second annual University of Guelph Gryphon’s LAAIR pitch competition, held online May 27. Harvest Genomics will use its $10,000 prize to develop and bring to market a portable DNA system that will make testing capabilities currently only available […] Read more
Beneficial bacteria found to boost crop yields, increase drought tolerance
Ontario-developed product still coming to market, will be applied as liquid
A Canadian crop nutrition company is using Trent University research into yield-boosting microbes to bring a new bioinoculant to market. Toronto-based NutriAg Ltd. and biology professor Dr. Neil Emery have received funding through a program supporting genomics-based technologies to refine and commercialize the innovation. The beneficial microbes discovered by Emery and his team have been […] Read more
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