Markets
The new GrainViz technology is so sensitive, it can identify and trigger alarms when it detects anything from the smallest bug to a trapped human in a grain bin. The latest version of GrainViz technology was unveiled in Winnipeg Dec. 12. At the same news conference, GrainViz co-founder and vice-president Boyd Koldingnes announced that his […] Read more
Markets
Stay on the ball when storing grain
Not everyone stores grain securely in big well-engineered bins. In many parts of the world, including North America, grain gets piled on the ground, sometimes with retaining rings. And sometimes there’s not even a steel or concrete retaining ring, says GrainViz entrepreneur Boyd Koldingnes. When he and the marketing team were in California recently to […] Read more
Honey wine sweet on future prospects
MILLARVILLE, Alta. — With names like Saskwatch, YeeHaw, Bastard, Redneck and Bonfire, the folks at Spirit Hills Winery like to infuse a little Alberta culture into every bottle of wine they make. Owned by Hugo Bonjean and Ilse de Wit of Millarville, located in the southern Alberta foothills, the wine is found in 200 Alberta […] Read more
There’s a better way to predict the weather
Your farmyard weather station is good at predicting weather you’ve already experienced. It predicts history. And your rain gauge is only accurate within a radius of about eight inches. These encouraging words come from Daryl Ritchison, chief meteorologist at the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network called NDAWN. He says your weather station and rain gauge […] Read more
Climatologist explains the fickle nature of thunderstorms
Why do fierce thunderstorms sometimes leave very little moisture on the ground? It’s a riddle that’s puzzled humankind for thousands of years. University of Missouri climatologist Neil Fox wanted to solve the riddle. To get at those answers, he turned to a relatively new research tool called dual-polarization radar. Farmers beyond a 30-mile radius (48 […] Read more
Weather forecast with a personal touch
Accurately predicting when, where and how much rain seems like magic. If you’re foretelling the future, and you’re accurate, then it must verge on magic right? Or is it science? Ask Scott Kehler and he’ll tell you it’s all a matter of science, but it’s got to be good science. Kehler is the chief researcher […] Read more
Firm zeroes in on next big market for drone technology: agriculture
Andrew Carson is wrapping up a presentation to a group of agriculture researchers when the question comes from the floor: “What is the next big growth area for drones?” The answer: agriculture. “It’s pretty simple economics when you look at it,” Carson says in a later interview. “There’s a lot of land to cover and […] Read more
Drones hold promise to ease scouting, spraying
Drone Volt is selling one of the world’s strongest mass-produced drones into the Canadian market, the Hercules 20 (H-20). “It’s probably one of the strongest in terms of payload that you will be able to find out of a company. If you are looking for anything that is that strong right now, you will have […] Read more
Biofortification: the art of improving food
Examples of biofortification projects include:
The potential for crop breeding known as biofortification to direct specific nutrients to people who need them the most is “huge,” but it will take a worldwide effort among many organizations to make that happen, says Adam Heurberger, assistant professor of horticulture and landscape agriculture at Colorado State University. Biofortification involves breeding plants with high […] Read more
Robots join the war on weeds
YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland/CHICAGO (Reuters) — In a field of sugar beets in Switzerland, a solar-powered robot that looks like a table on wheels scans the rows of crops with its camera, identifies weeds and zaps them with jets of blue liquid from its mechanical tentacles. Undergoing final tests before the liquid is replaced with herbicide, the […] Read more
