The Canadian Grain Commission has been cross-checking and testing samples sent in by producers and seed growers
It’s a busy time of year for seed laboratories as the 2023 planting draws near. This year, labs will likely see their resources pressured because the malt barley industry plans an extensive testing program to sort out contamination in the seed stock. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, said the […] Read more
Robin Booker
Stories by Robin Booker
Farmers can now buy robotic weeder
The artificial intelligence-based platform was originally marketed as a service, but the new generation will be for sale
FarmWise has drastically changed the design of its robotic weeding platform and its business model with the launch of its Vulcan three-point-hitch weeder. The American start-up originally designed the robotic Titan FT35 to scan vegetable crop rows with artificial intelligence (AI), which decides what plants should be mechanically eliminated with its weeding arms. The company […] Read more
Heavy haulers headed to frigid south
Case IH engineers outfit three of the company’s Quadtracs for one of the harshest environments on earth
Three Quadtrac tractors modified for extreme cold operations are being delivered to the Australian government for service in Antarctica. The Australian Antarctic Division will use the tractors for general sled towing, heavy vehicle recovery, cargo transport from Casey to Wilkins and maintenance on the Wilkins Blue Ice Runway by pulling a 90-tonne roller and scraper. […] Read more
Combine sensor gives harvest maps a boost
Growers can use the maps to reduce their nitrogen inputs by not over-applying in areas where it won’t provide a response
John Deere’s HarvestLab 3000 sensor is now available as a retrofit for 2018 and newer John Deere S700 series combines. The system uses near-infrared-reflectance technology, and it’s already available in Deer’s forage harvesters, for manure sensing on liquid manure applicators, and as a standalone product. For combines, HarvestLab will monitor harvested grain and allow growers […] Read more
Cameras and artificial intelligence spot harvest losses
A system that identifies harvest losses from the combine and header can be used to make on-the-fly adjustments. Farmwave’s Harvest Vision system has three cameras, a network switch and the Farmbook computer, which are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) models. The system is designed to detect header and combine harvest loss in real time, and […] Read more
Deere picks companies for collaboration program
Two Canadian companies are among the eight selected by John Deere for its 2023 Startup Collaborators program. Deere started the program in 2019 to help it find innovative agricultural and construction technologies. “We don’t have the market cornered on all the good ideas and we’re always innovating and always listening to what our customers’ needs […] Read more
Hybrid mustard matches canola yield, but disease concerns remain
Strong mustard prices and available hybrid varieties have prompted a few farmers from outside the crop’s traditional growing regions to consider growing the oilseed. Cory Jacobs, crops specialist for the Province of Saskatchewan, said elevated mustard prices make the new hybrid varieties worth trying, even in northern areas of the province. “The main thing if […] Read more
Stripper header built by NA manufacturer
K-Hart Industries is getting into the stripper business. Kim Hartman is the president of K-Hart, and he said the company’s new Raptor stripper header is similar in design to the European-built Shelbourne Reynolds stripper headers that have been sold on the Prairies for 30 years. “We’re very similar to theirs, we’ve just tweaked it. We’ve […] Read more
Starter fertilizer sprayed on seed, in furrow
Each seed is detected by a sensor when planted, and then sprayed with liquid fertilizer before the closing wheel
John Deere has rolled out the latest upgrade to its integrated liquid fertilizer system, ExactRate, that was launched in 2020. ExactRate gives planters row by row section control that prevents overlap and enables curve compensation for a uniform, in-furrow liquid fertilizer application, the company says. ExactShot allows users of ExactRate to spray starter fertilizer on […] Read more
Pesticide dispute is going political
Canada Grains Council says important technical data were not properly considered in lambda-cyhalothrin decision
A lot went wrong during the process the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) used to ban lambda-cyhalothrin and it’s time to take the fight for the ability to use this active ingredient to a political arena, said Gord Kurbis, vice-president of trade policy and crop protection at the Canada Grains Council. Lambda-cyhalothrin is the active […] Read more
