Wade Barnes, CEO of Farmers Edge.

Farmers Edge releases road map

The company is promising a host of new digital agriculture tools

A homegrown ag technology giant says it’s expecting to launch more than 90 new digital agronomic tools in the coming months. Winnipeg’s Farmers Edge released a “comprehensive R&D road map” May 1, touting its ability to leverage data analytics and high-tech approaches like machine learning to enable “data-driven decision-making” that supports high-yield crop production. Farmers

VIDEO: A 3D view of the grain inside your bin

VIDEO: A 3D view of the grain inside your bin

Inventors' Showcase entrant at Manitoba Ag Days showcased serious technology to help spot spoilage before it occurs

Have you ever been sitting at home wondering what’s going on with the moisture content inside your grain bin? Well, wonder no more. Using spectral imaging technology – similar to that of an MRI or CT scan – GrainViz creates a 3D moisture map of the grain inside your bin that you can view via


VIDEO: CropPro Consulting wins Best New Product at Ag Days

VIDEO: CropPro Consulting wins Best New Product at Ag Days

System collects electrical conductivity data for variable rate seed, fertilizer program

Best New Product at Manitoba Ag Days was awarded to CropPro Consulting on Jan. 17, 2018, for SWAT MAPS and SWATBOX, its variable rate seed and fertilizer service. SWAT MAPS collects data based on soil, water, and topography data and SWATBOX collects soil electrical conductivity data while seeding or tilling. In this video, Derek Rude

Clock is ticking on electronic monitoring for transport trucks

Clock is ticking on electronic monitoring for transport trucks

Trucks carrying agricultural shipments into the U.S. will have a tighter leash on hours-of-service rules this year, and Canada isn’t far behind

Old-fashioned transport truck log books are becoming a thing of the past, and agricultural haulers are getting ready for the change. Both the U.S. and Canada hope to tighten compliance on how long drivers are on the road by switching out paper logs for mandatory electronic logging devices. “Driver fatigue is recognized in Canada and


Blockchain could revolutionize food

It’s an impressive and high-tech solution to the problem of sharing information 
from many parties quickly and easily

There has been a lot of noise on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin of late. While some suggest cryptocurrencies are a fraud, others believe them to be the next economic revolution. Bitcoin has brought to light the interesting concept of blockchain technology, which offers great potential for the agri-food sector. Yet it is far from being the

Harvest goes hands free

Harvest goes hands free

British researchers have put automation to test in the farm field

A U.K. research project has planted, tended and harvested the first crop — of spring barley — that’s never seen direct human labour. Hands Free Hectare was aiming to test the concept in the field and consciously chose smaller machinery, said Jonathan Gill, a researcher at Harper University. “There’s been a focus in recent years


Agritruth’s Adam Gurr (l to r) and Stephen Vajdik hope to generate robust, field-scale data on everything from nutrient management to varieties and product testing.

Little farm on the big database

Plenty of farmers would like to get their heads into the cloud. So what’s keeping them grounded?

When it comes to big data on the farm, the final destination is sunny, but the road ahead is full of bumps. That’s according to NDSU’s David Saxowsky, a professor of agriculture who’s written on the topic of data and its coming impact on agriculture. Saxowsky imagines a time when farmers are so well informed

Dr. Alan Moulin takes tour attendees through the field.

Measuring tillage impact

There may be a middle path that gives the best results

Conventional wisdom says less tillage is better when it comes to soil structure, but the issue is more complex when comparing organic soil health to zero till, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Dr. Alan Moulin. Moulin’s team looked at “soil aggregates,” or how soil particles bind together into larger groups, under high-input conventional


Editorial: Drilling for data

The recent headline in the tech magazine Wired cut straight to the point. “Data is the new oil of the digital economy,” it proclaimed. Data is everywhere, it said, an immensely valuable and untapped resource that will drive the digital economy forward just as oil fuelled the industrial economy. Vast fortunes are available for the

VIDEO: Hi-tech cultivator cuts weeds down to size

VIDEO: Hi-tech cultivator cuts weeds down to size

Inter-row cultivator uses a camera and computer to get rid of weeds

Mechanical weed control was one of the features at Crop Diagnostic School last month in Carman. Here, Katherine Stanley of the University of Manitoba explains some of the technology the Garford cultivator uses that allow it to remove weeds from your crop without damaging it in the process. Video editing by Greg Berg.