Farm show showcases the latest agriculture technology, from cattle handling and dairy tools to biostimulants and big iron
Farmers in Eastern Canada flocked to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and found a show more fully stocked than recent events, which were challenged by equipment company supply chain issues.
The show, held Sept. 12-14 in Woodstock, Ont., featured tours of research plots and expanded in-field demonstrations that included forage mower-conditioners, hay mergers, fall tillage options, cover crop tillage and fertilizer spreading.
The show also featured more autonomous cropping solutions, with the Canadian farm show debut of the Sabanto autonomous retrofit system, shown by GPS Ontario.
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As well, four autonomous robots ran simultaneously in a field. They included a small Naio Dino robot that provides tillage to vegetable growers, a Naio Ted, which provides weed control and data-gathering in vineyards, a strip-tiller unit on a Robotti platform and the solar-powered FarmDroid that planted onions autonomously during the show.
“We were really pleased with the show and the business done here,” said Doug Wagner, show director. “You have to be here to see the enthusiasm. It’s really positive.”
Wagner noted the change in focus for drone technology as it evolves from crop scouting to fertilizer and seed application.
In the livestock area, the Dairy Innovation Centre, there were heifers with differing genomic tests and farmers were asked to decide which one they would take home, if given the chance. An expanded small ruminant area featured sheep total-mixed-ration demonstrations.
The Innovation Competition at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show was tightly contested with 22 entries in five categories.
The winners included:
- In the agronomics category: A&L Canada Laboratories Inc. for its bio-stimulant AL-Bio7. The bio-stimulant is registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and works to improve soil and plant health by harnessing the beneficial properties of the bacterial strain AL-336.
- In business solutions: Agrilog for its Agrilog platform. It simplifies management of grain inventory and quality, and works with small farms and large elevators.
- In environmental sustainability: Clean Works, for its Clean Flow process, which uses light, a gentle mist and ozone to cleanse produce as it passes under a conveyor hood to virtually eliminate pathogens. This can reduce food safety risks for vegetables and fruit in storage and reduce food waste.
- Ag Leader Technology won in the Equipment category for its Turnpath guidance system. It works with steering guidance systems to improve accuracy and reduce operator fatigue, with headland automation.
- In the livestock category, VETSon Veterinary Virtual Healthcare for Farm Animals was the winner. This company provides veterinary care to farmers without access to a local veterinarian through the use of phone and video calls and information sharing.
