The 2021 Virtual Precision Agriculture Conference was a great success. Attendees learned from expert precision agriculture speakers and discovered a wide variety of new products and techniques.
To review articles and videos about most of these presentations, please visit click on the article links below.
It include presentations made on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, such as: Is agriculture rocket science; Can robotics work for small farms; The importance of interoperability in precision agriculture; and Fields and Finances: Tales from the Farm Accountant.
This page also includes presentations made on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, such as Leading. Understanding. Collaborating. The present and future of digital agriculture; Cybersecurity + Agriculture, an overview of current and future threats; and the Evolution of Precision Ag - Precision Conservation and Sustainable Agronomy.
Is Agriculture Rocket Science?
Is Agriculture Rocket Science? Is Rocket science part of Agriculture? Building on last year’s presentation “Space Utilization and Land Utilization”, this presentation touched on the various tools that observe the Earth and provide scientific data that become an essential part of understanding our environment.
READ THE ARTICLE Breakout: Can Robotics Work for Small Farms?
This presentation looked at whether there is an opportunity for small farms to use robotics, when the products are scaled down to smaller parcels of land. Can the economics be changed on small farms to make a profit on small parcels. This presentation focused on ground vehicles (not drones), and on grain crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and sorghum. Jeff shared his journey developing products and technologies that aim to be both affordable and well-suited to small farms.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Navigating environmental policy with precision ag
Wes Anderson Vice President, Agronomy
SWAT MAPS
Environmental policy affecting fertilizer use has risen as a hot topic in the industry, specifically how to meet nitrous oxide emission reduction targets. Environmental concerns in agriculture continue to emerge as more consumers desire to understand the impact of their purchasing decisions. This presentation discussed various ways that precision ag tools can address these concerns and meet climate policy goals currently set by government, and why these goals may be easier to achieve than we think with combinations of existing technology, and with some emerging technology as well.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Introducing the Trade Commissioner Service
The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) helps companies navigate the complexities of international markets and make better business decisions. The TCS is on the ground in more than 160 cities worldwide. The TCS is a free service of the Government of Canada, helping companies to prepare for international markets, assess market potential, find qualified contacts and resolve business problems.
The Path to an Autonomous Farm
Arguably, labor shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing the agriculture industry today. What if the labour shortage could be addressed with autonomous machinery? Is it just science fiction, or are we closer than you might think?
READ THE ARTICLEThe importance of interoperability in precision agriculture.
This presentation outlinde the EU perspective on interoperability and standardisation, and presented the DEMETER project & objectives and also the ATLAS project (another European project focused on interoperability). Kevin Doolin summmarized lessons learnt from farmers participating in the pilot projects. DEMETER’s goal is to lead the digital transformation of Europe’s agri-food sector.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Carbon Basics in Agriculture
Scott Jackman Vice President of Sales
Deveron
Scott Jackman, Vice President of Sales at Deveron, delivered his presentation 'Carbon Basics in Agriculture' to attendees of the 2021 Farms.com Virtual Precision Agriculture Conference & Ag Technology Showcase...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Accelerating Adoption: How IN10T Works Directly with Farmers to Unlock On-Farm Experiences
Hundreds of new technologies are launched to the agriculture market each year, but on average farmers will try 1.5 new technologies per year, or less! With all that innovation, how can a company ensure their product is adopted by the market? By working directly with farmers!
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Presentation from Bushel Plus
Chris "Dutch" van Meijl, Sales Administrator with Bushel Plus, discussed why measuring your harvest loss can be your biggest advantage.
READ THE ARTICLEFields and Finances: tales from the farm accountant
Kathy Neufeld, Manager at Stark and Marsh shared her experience and the lessons she’s learned when it comes to managing farm books confidently and effectively. Hosted by Krista Kilback, Manager of Marketing and Sales, FCC AgExpert.
READ THE ARTICLESMART Seeder MAX: Driving Field Profitability with Data & Technology
Colin Rush, Chief Operating Officer with Clean Seed Capital, discussed the SMART Seeder MAX — the worlds most advanced seeding and planting technology...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Technology is revolutionizing the way we grow food
Adam Greenberg Chief Operating Officer
iUNU
With climate change and sustainability concerns impacting our ability to grow food outdoors, there is a shift of focus towards indoor farming. The greenhouse of today is vastly different than the greenhouse operation of even 20 years ago. Technology such as AI, robotics, data analytics, and computer vision allows growers to use data-driven information to optimize their facilities. This discussion also focused on the increase in urban agriculture whether it is on a rooftop or in an abandoned building, the need to bring healthy produce to frontline communities ...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: A Simple Carbon Strategy That Makes Sense and Money
With all this talk about carbon, there's been one common theme: it's complicated. In this session, Barnes revealed how farmers can more easily get rewarded for land stewardship, simplify the process from start to finish, and gain a superior position in the marketplace.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Data-driven precision agriculture practices
Dmitry shared real-world case studies showcasing the GeoPard precisionAg platform highlighting its ability to enable data-driven agriculture...
READ THE ARTICLELeading. Understanding. Collaborating. The Present and Future of Digital Agriculture
Jay Nauta Digital Business Manager
Granular
Krista Klompstra, Digital Business Leader, and Jay Nauta, Digital Business Manager, both from Granular, spoke with attendees on 'The Present and Future of Digital Agriculture' ...
READ THE ARTICLEThe growth, challenges and opportunities of AgTech!
David Guthrie Partner, National Agribusiness Sector Leader
KPMG Canada
Agribusiness plays a critical role in both driving Canada's economy as well as feeding the nation. In this session, David Guthrie took a deep dive into how the AgTech revolution is transforming the farming landscape and what those in the industry can to do help define, grow and innovate along with it...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: FieldView: Helping to manage through all the conditions
We've seen no rain, we've seen too much rain, we've seen high prices, we've seen low prices. Using digital tools to help manage through the unexpected gives you the data you need to help make the right decision and choose the practices that work best on your farm.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Next Generation Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer Technologies
Participants learned about the Climate Smart Technologies that Soilgenic is developing to assist in transforming agriculture to a low carbon industry, while making nutrients more efficient and reducing loss to the environment...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Cybersecurity + Agriculture, an Overview of Current and Future Threats
Andrew RoseExecutive Director
CyberAg
The pace of cyber-attacks on the agriculture sector is increasing rapidly. In China’s current 14th 5-year plan, the acquisition of farm equipment technology is a primary goal. This easy-to-understand session provided an overview of who these criminals are, what their motivations are, what weapons they use, how to protect your business (hint, it is basic) and what to do if you are attacked. It touched on some of the future weapons/threat actors who will be (and already are in some instances) impacting the agriculture sector...
READ THE ARTICLEEvolution of Precision Ag - Precision Conservation and Sustainable Agronomy
Transforming agriculture systems in an important part of combating climate change. Participants learned how food and agriculture industries can adopt, scale and monetize resilient agricultural practices...
READ THE ARTICLEDigitalizing Vineyards - The Role of Computer Vision and Deep Learning in Yield Management
Ben Utter, Business Development Director at Bloomfield Robotics, discussed the company's custom tereo camera technology, designed as an innovative way for growers to collect and measure key plant attributes for high-throughput phenotyping....
READ THE ARTICLEAutonomous Weeding
Chuck Baresich and his brother Justin have farmed in the Bothwell, southwestern Ontario area for 20 years in a long-term no-till zone system. From the beginning, they have used various forms of precision agriculture technology. As part of the The Autonomous Working Group 2021 they created a plan to test autonomous vehicles in real-life crop production in Ontario, with an initial focus on autonomous weeding...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Revelations from 10 years of field trials combined with big data
Usevalad shared his experience of implementing VRA technology with several companies. He described steps as well as the problems encountered and the solutions generated...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Livestock Nutrition Ag-Tech as a Solution to Land and Water Scarcity
Thierry PerrotinVP Business Development, HydroGreen
CubicFarms
Ag-tech is no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity for farmers to keep growing profitably and sustainably. To feed our growing global population, farmers must grow more with less, maximizing space while minimizing resources. Using automated indoor growing technology for fresh livestock feed that grows in any climate, year-round, farmers can continue growing with less water and land available...
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: Making Soil Mapping Technology a tool in the Precision Ag Toolbox
Zach HarmerNorth American Sales & Global Support Manager
SoilOptix® Inc
As we continue to face extremes in growing conditions, and increasing input costs, precision agriculture tools are going to become more of a necessity. In that toolbox, soil mapping technologies like SoilOptix, should be the baseline to better understanding field's needs and maximizing the dollars in and out. This presentation outlined how SoilOptix has performed and proven to be this necessary tool.
READ THE ARTICLEBreakout: FieldView: Helping to manage through all the conditions
Greg Crutsinger Customer Success Manager
Planet
Planet's constellation of satellites capture the whole of Earth's landmass every day. This unprecedented dataset provides insights to the agricultural sector, helping farmers and the companies that serve them make informed, timely decisions. But translating that data into insights isn’t always straightforward. In this session, Greg Crutsinger reviewed the fundamental ways space observation is serving agricultural customers and presented new applications in satellite data - everything from Improving yield estimation to identifying planting and harvest dates to understanding crop nitrogen status...
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