New CEO of CAAIN

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Looking to Add More Innovation to the Ag Sector

The new Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) has been around the food industry for her entire career. Kerry Wright took over the top job at the organization on April 12 of this year with a resume ripe with experience.

By Lee Griffi “My father is a chef, so food was always around us and an important part of my early years. I grew up in a small town that was very rural and had a lot of agriculture. Many of my friends and family worked in the sector so it has always been of interest to me,” said Kerry Wright. Her father steered her towards a career in dietetics and she eventually graduated from the University of Guelph. “The program was a combination of food science and commerce, so I graduated with a degree in commerce, had all of the food science courses, and I did a dietetic internship for about 6 months,” added Wright.

Her career path eventually led her to an opportunity to work with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association where Wright had the opportunity to work on new beef product. “I had a national portfolio, so I worked with companies across Canada to develop new products of beef. That really entered me into the realm of understanding supply and where our food comes from and how that relates into the food processing sector.” She then worked with one of the largest agri-food consulting businesses in Canada that supported companies to build plants and help with strategic business development. “I also put a lot of effort into process improvement, continuous improvement, and innovation,” she added.

What is CAAIN Anyways?

CAAIN is an organization mandated to increasing the productivity and efficiency of Canadian agrifood companies by applying new technological solutions. It came together quickly in March of 2019 when eight founding partners submitted a proposal to the federal government. The partners are made up of technology and agri-food companies, postsecondary institutions, and research institutions. Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada approved the application four months later and CAAIN was born.

“We really want to make sure we are getting out there with the funding that we have. Our focus is bridging the gap dividing the agriculture and technology sectors,” said Wright, who is excited to be at the helm. “What it was really all about was that innovation space for me. AMC members certainly know and appreciate the ability to add innovation and automation in this sector is really needed. The people at CAAIN are doers. They move things along very quickly and I really like the ability to be a part of that.”

The Three Pillars

There are three main areas the organization is focusing on. “We really want to help to drive and support these areas and get it out to the people that need it and understand what research can do to move the ag sector forward. CAAIN currently has closed and open competitions underway focusing on the three pillars:

1. Robotics and Automation

The ag sector is facing major labour shortages, and that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. “We want to drive automation towards reducing the need for unskilled labour. Allow the machines to operate and maintain skilled workers. That part is the driving force around acceptance into the competition. We want to make sure we can provide more producer certainty around what they are doing in their milking or their harvesting, and the projects we are looking to fund will really bridge that aspect,” said Wright.

2. Data-Driven Decision-Making

Data really is the key driver to enable a smart decision-making culture. “To be able to do that it really depends on good, wellanalyzed data. This data leads to informed decisions, which then leads to a greater return on investment. Some of the people we are supporting in our competitions are looking at that data, understanding it, and understanding how it can be layered with other information and bring some really good solutions to farming,” said Wright.

“This is about validating new technologies in a real-world environment and demonstrating those technologies to producers. You want to be able to show the people with boots on the ground how this works, what is the rationale and what’s the return for it. With our alignment with postsecondary institutions such as Olds College and Lakeland College, we can educate that next generation of people coming forward.” Wright added that smart farms represent a unique, exciting opportunity for CAAIN and she feels they will be able to expand them across the country. “Some will be crops, some livestock, greenhouses, we will have a good variety. Right now, they tend to be post-secondary scenarios where we can carve out land and do some research and innovation, but it doesn’t have to be related to a college.”

The Competitions

Nine projects spanning the three pillars were approved through a closed competition that launched in the spring of 2020 and wrapped up in January of this year. “It’s very exciting for us to move those forward as they are aligned with what we want to do,” said Wright. “The projects involved do not receive grants, but rather compensation for eligible project expenses. The more information participants are willing to share with the ag-tech ecosystem, the greater the reimbursement, up to a maximum of 40 percent of project costs.“

Wright said the application process is very straightforward. “We have a single page outline that is quite easy to do so we can quickly understand what the project is about. The next step is an expression of interest and from that we get more details on the full proposal to see if it is a good fit.” A pan-Canadian open competition was launched in December 2020 for individuals or organizations meeting CAAIN’s criteria. Another open competition will likely be announced in the fall just after the current process wraps up.

Some recipients of the closed competition have been announced with more to come throughout the summer. For up-to-date information, go to CAAIN’s website at https://caain.ca.

Proportion of Submitted & Approved Projects by Province

Today’s Ag Sector

Wright feels that agriculture is ready now to apply innovation and technology. “I think farmers are really going to push to adapt and consider different opportunities to run their farms. Don’t get me wrong, I am very high on traditional farming as well. They are going to learn a lot from the past and they are going to take it forward.” She believes now is the time for the sector to do more with what they have. “What can we do to allow a farmer to do more with less and be more productive? What we have on our land and in our water are things we know are very precious. The stewards of the land, the better they can do and more informed they can be about how to do it, I think it is an exciting spot to be in.”