An ambitious new construction project in British Columbia’s lower mainland integrates urban and rural interests
TSAWWASSEN, B.C. — When Sean Hodgins walks down the new sidewalks of the Southlands subdivision and watches new homes rising out of the sandy soil, his vision extends beyond another new suburb in British Columbia’s lower mainland. The president of the Century Group, a family owned real estate development company, sees an “agrihood” where a […] Read moreTag Archives The Innovation Issue — page 4
Agriculture has the potential to change the world
Welcome to our annual special edition, which we at the Western Producer affectionately call Issue 52. Each year, for the last edition, we select a topic and take a deep dive with our entire newsroom. We parse the topics and go long, finding out what’s new and improving in the industry. We started this back […] Read more
Automated farming: it may be here quicker than you think
CALGARY — Autonomous farming isn’t just a cool idea, it’s a big, iron reality coming to Western Canada this coming year. And once it’s here, autonomous farming could begin sweeping away today’s machines the way cars and tractors swept away horses in North America’s cities and on its farmland. “We are the tip of the […] Read more
Grasping at straws
It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Where some see waste moving out the back end of combines, Catherine Hui Niu sees great opportunity. “Can we explore new use of those materials? Can we make better use, discover new technology to reuse those materials, recycle them, or add value to them?” asked Niu, associate […] Read more
The wild west of agricultural data
Canadian agriculture is in the midst of a sea change that stems from the digitization of farm production data. The sector was a little tardy in showing up for the digital revolution, but most growers now use techniques powered by complex algorithms and massive datasets. Telematics, cloud storage and processing, internet of things (IOT), sensors, […] Read more
Small satellite networks: more than a pretty picture
Faster, smarter, sharper with more options describes the latest satellite technology information and services being delivered to growers. Hundreds of the toaster-sized units orbit the Earth taking thousands of snapshots of all corners of the globe every day. The rapid evolution in satellite technology has made high-resolution aerial field photos readily available to all farmers. […] Read more
The fault with salt
TORONTO — Many people admit they reach for the salt shaker too often but it is the hidden sodium in the average diet that is more risky. “The salt shaker on average only contributes 10 percent of the sodium. It is what is already in the food you are ordering that you can’t touch. That […] Read more
The end of fake calamari
In some parts of the world — maybe even this part, on occasion — the “beef” on your plate might be meat from rats, dogs, horses or camels. High-quality beef is expensive so it can be lucrative to misrepresent high-end meat by substituting a cheaper product or ingredient. In addition to being illegal, it reduces […] Read more
Holograms leap from video games to fields
Augmented reality technology developed to help farmers compare crop conditions and review spray applications
Augmented reality (AR) will soon be used on Canadian farms to help producers make sense and manage their data. AR is the overlaying of digital information over the real world, and is already widely used in with video games such as Pokemon. Farmers will soon be able to look through a pair of AR capable […] Read more
Aussie hesitation on GM canola a costly mistake
Researchers say Australia’s decision to delay seeding GM canola had negative economic and environmental implications
Australia’s decision to delay the adoption of genetically modified canola cost farmers money but more significantly cost the environment, found a study by Canadian and Australian researchers released earlier this year. Stuart Smyth and Scott Biden from the University of Saskatchewan and David Hudson from SGA Solutions in Melbourne, Australia, used Canadian GM canola data […] Read more
