Farmers and agribusiness want to use drone sprayers, but regulations for applying crop protection products lag
Glacier FarmMedia – Canadian farmers are looking forward to the day their battle against pests has a better air force, but government says they’ll have to bide their time before pesticide-spraying drones are an option. Drones can be used in the United States if the product label covers aerial application and all other drone operation rules are […] Read more
Solar storm sends field navigation haywire
In the summer of 1859, a British astronomer was investigating what looked like a group of dark specks on the sun when there was a blast of light. The flare he saw lasted five minutes. The effects lasted for two days. Telegraph systems failed so spectacularly that operators got electrical shocks from their machines. Paper […] Read more
PTx provides a blend of precision farming systems
The new joint Agco-Trimble venture combines digital technologies from the brands for both retrofit and OEM applications
As of early April there’s a new name on the precision farming landscape: PTx. It includes a joint Agco-Trimble venture that will take over Trimble’s existing agricultural products line as well as Agco’s JCA Technologies business under the newly named PTx Trimble brand. Agco has acquired an 85 per cent share in the joint venture, […] Read more
Canada needs to accommodate spray drones
Adam Bercu, founder and CEO of a company called Guardian Agriculture, has altered my opinion on the future of spray drones. I recently met Bercu at a venture capital summit in the Silicon Valley, not far from San Francisco. He was a sponsor of the event and had one of his drones on display for […] Read more
GPS signal outage planned
If the GPS system in use on your farm relies on a Wide Area Augmentation System signal, be aware of a planned outage that will occur in the middle of spring seeding this year. The United States Federal Aviation Administration, which administers the civilian-use GPS network, plans to switch WAAS GEO 6 (S15 – PRN […] Read more
DNA analysis gives close-up look at soil health
Glacier FarmMedia – If this was a police procedural, DNA taken from the scene of a crime would help lock away the bad guy. Here, the scene is a field, the farmer is the hero and the bad guy might be a hidden crop disease that the farmer can arrest because DNA samples warned him […] Read more
Deere reaches for fully autonomous fleet by 2030
Company targets autonomous operations for every job required to grow a corn or soy crop, from tillage to harvest
As John Deere unveiled its 2025 model year product line in late February, it brought the company one year closer to a significant date: 2030. That is when the brand has promised to offer a complete fleet of autonomous equipment, able to handle a full farming season from seeding to harvest with self-driving machines. “The […] Read more
Feds spend $97 million on agricultural clean tech projects
Glacier FarmMedia – The federal government today announced some $97 million in funding for farms and agri-businesses to adopt cleaner technologies like more efficient grain dryers, solar power and precision agriculture technology. “Canadian farmers fully understand the need to take care of the environment and they are constantly innovating to find new solutions to reduce […] Read more
Ag investments in artificial intelligence worth watching in ’24
I watch with interest what investors consider to be hot in the world of agriculture and note how quickly that interest fades and moves to the next trend. Precision agriculture technologies are the exception. They remain a popular investment choice, and for good reason. In comparison, the alternative protein sector, particularly plant-based meats, is no […] Read more
JD teams with Starlink satellite service
The equipment manufacturer plans to start in the United States and Brazil as it aims to boost machine connectivity
One common complaint from many farmers is about less-than-impressive rural cellular coverage. It’s a complaint not limited to Canada, and in fact Canadian producers have it better than those in some other countries. One problem with limited service is that it affects the use of digitally connected machines in a farm fleet, which need good […] Read more
