The line between what stays in my farmyard and what gets discarded has drastically changed. Over the past week, I’ve been prepping the yard for the metal man, and I’ve been throwing things on the metal piles that sentimentality would have prevented in years past. It could have been the raccoons, groundhogs, skunks and other […] Read more
Robin Booker
Stories by Robin Booker
Autonomous tech plugs into older tractors
A Canadian tech start-up, Mojow Autonomous Solutions, builds navigation controllers that enable autonomous tractor operations. They’ve been installed on a Case Magnum 300-horsepower tractor and the company plans to use them to harrow and land roll 10,000 acres this summer. Mojow fired up in 2020 and now has 12 people working in its Edmonton development […] Read more
Combining forces and experience, Krone and Lemken are autonomous
For the European shortliners, working together harnesses global skills to put Combined Powers to work in farmers’ fields
Krone and Lemken teamed up to build a robotic tractor and implements that will help the companies keep pace with the autonomous revolution expected to sweep the agricultural sector. Combined Powers is the name of the joint project. Yves Desjardins of Lemken said there are multiple reasons it made sense for the companies to work […] Read more
SeedMaster supplies Deere with drills
Fans of SeedMaster toolbars and equipment with green paint are in luck with a new equipment-supply agreement between John Deere and SeedMaster. SeedMaster will supply Deere with 60, 70, 80 and 90 foot frames in green paint, with 10- or 12-inch spacing and its dual knife openers. The dual-knife opener places fertilizer 1.5 inches horizontally […] Read more
Are lygus bugs developing a taste for fababeans?
Increased lygus bug pressure in Saskatchewan fababean crops could be a sign of things to come. Lygus is a significant concern in fababeans because the damage they inflict on the seed causes it to be downgraded from food grade to feed stock, said Sean Prager, an entomologist at the University of Saskatchewan. Prager heads a […] Read more
Sustainability on the farm can take advice
Truterra created a specialized agronomy network to provide technical expertise to ag retailers and farmers moving toward conservation management systems. Jason Strand, an agronomist based in North Dakota and one of the experts on the new network, said the network is an extension of the Truterra program. “It’s a resource for growers or agronomists, or […] Read more
Taking farmland carbon sequestration to the bank
Carbon Asset Solutions measures and records soil carbon levels in farmland, and then places verified carbon credits on an open market on behalf of farmers. “We’re a measurement, recording, verification platform,” said Jason Bradley of Carbon Asset Solutions. “We measure soil carbon at the atomic level, so highly precise, highly accurate and at a high […] Read more
Weather forecaster uses many sources
New system gathers information from sensors, national forecasters and machine learning to localize forecasts
California-based Benchmark Labs uses Internet of Things weather sensors, information from national forecasters and machine learning to improve local weather forecasts for farmers. Carlos Gaitan, chief executive officer of Benchmark Labs, said the new system was designed with growers of specialty crops in mind so they can adjust quickly to imminent weather changes. However, growers […] Read more
Skills program in advanced agricultural technologies builds for today’s needs
A program designed to address the labour deficit in Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector will begin this June. The Automation and Digital Agriculture Specialist Program is run by Palette Skills, a national non-profit organization, with support from the University of Saskatchewan. The program is designed to equip people, who already have some post-secondary education, with the skills […] Read more
Stopping the nutrient losses at the pril
Calgary company found a way to coat the urea after production, prior to distribution, making it cheaper and convenient
A new nitrification inhibitor that’s cheaper to produce and can be coated onto urea during manufacturing may reduce the cost of protecting nitrogen fertilizer. Calgary-based Soilgenic Technologies produces NitroBlock, based on dicyandiamide technology, that is commonly used in fertilizer formulations as a nitrification inhibitor to slow the release of applied nitrogen into plant available forms. […] Read more
