17 minute read
Interview with Lana Popham
Minister Lana Popham announced a new online resource in 2020 that will make it easier to learn about jobs and careers in agriculture.
By Tom Walker
Advertisement
Every fall Orchard and Vine speaks with the BC Agriculture Minister to recap how the year has gone for the industry in BC, but with the election this year we were unable to connect with Minister Lana Popham until just before Christmas. In this interview, Popham talks about some of her work during the year and some things to look forward to in her expanded role as Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries.
O&V:
“How has this year been for fruit growers, given we had frost, rain, hail, freeze and COVID-19?”
Minister Popham:
“It has been relentless, growers have been hit with everything. For the apple growers in particular, if the weather had been perfect, and we hadn’t been hit with a pandemic and we weren’t having a bunch of cheap Washington apples in our stores, then maybe there could have been some improvements.”
O&V:
“BC Tree Fruits Co-op is working on an extensive restructuring plan. Do you see any role for the Ministry in supporting this key business in the tree fruit industry, as they strive to improve fruit quality and the health of the business?”
Minister Popham:
“Yes. The Co-op is a corner stone of the tree fruit business in BC and it has been struggling. We have been working since the summer to address some of the issues that were brought up in the governance study and I feel like there is some hope there. Sometimes change is really tough, but we are almost at the point where there is no choice so we are going to be putting forward suggestions of how we would like to see things change and how we will go about supporting those changes. It is going to be a different approach, very hands on. These are not easy times for change because in some ways people are just hanging on to what they have got. But I think in many ways change is going to be welcome for growers. “Consumers are more in tune with the food system now, which is great. Consumers got a big scare this year when they went to go buy things and the shelves were bare, so I will continue to push hard on producers to develop their domestic markets as well as trying to recover some of the international market. But I don’t have to try and convince anyone anymore because people were there. I sometimes feel a little bit of a broken record when I am talking to producers about the domestic market, but I don’t
think I’m going to have to play that song anymore. I think we are all on the same page.”
O&V
“When I talk with producers, some of them ask why we just can’t make it a law to sell only BC fruit in BC?”
Minister Popham
“We can’t make it a law to just buy BC because of trade agreements, so unfortunately Washington apples are always going to be there. Even with our Buy BC program, it is well thought out, so we are not stepping on trade issues. We have retailers who are embracing the buy BC program and using that logo in-store, but it is important to make sure consumers are asking for our apples in their retail stores. I am looking forward to talking with our BC apple sector about how we make consumers understand the importance of that choice. It comes down to, do you want an apple industry or not? And when it comes down to being that harsh, I am pretty sure most people in British Columbia will cheer BC apples. “But we can’t depend on retail sales completely, so moving food through the hospital system is one way to bring more stability. The apple industry hasn’t embraced that idea yet, so that is another way that we need to work with them more. They do say that the unprocessed fresh apple is the best way to make money, but honestly, the hospital system uses a lot of apple sauce and some sales is better than no sales. We have to figure how to bring some stability there and if it is going to have to be with value added products, then that is what is going to have to be.”
O&V
“This is the last year of the tree fruit replant program. How successful do you believe it has been?”
Minister Popham
“There have been millions of dollars invested in replant and I think it has been a success and we support that fully. But within the reviews we are doing, we are going to be talking about the replant program to see if it is getting the biggest bang for its buck. We support replant. In fact we support it so much that we have initiated a new replant program for raspberries.”
O&V
“Tell me more about the investment in raspberry replant.”
Minister Popham
“The raspberry industry finds itself with the same pressures as other fruit adapting to the way consumers shop. Having the right varieties for the fresh market that will stay on the shelves a little longer, or ones that will freeze better are important. The industry just hasn’t had the support that they needed to make those changes. “We put forward $90,000 this year which will include some money for a study to figure out what they need, but also try out an initial replant to see how it is going to work. Sometimes industry doesn’t necessarily need tons and tons of money, they just need some support along the way so they can get to the next level and that is what I see the raspberry support as being. It is not a massive amount of money, but it is the beginning of a program which I think is necessary to save the industry or else we won’t have a raspberry industry.”
A group of farm workers picking vegetable crops near Chilliwack.
O&V
“You were able to offer support for SAWP workers coming into the province this year. What success did you see with that support? Any plans for expansion?”
Minister Popham
“We led the country with our plan to quarantine workers and I am really glad we were able to make that decision quickly. We do get workers earlier than other provinces, so we had a little bit of a heads up on what was happening. We could not have had a successful agriculture season without it.
“We are ready to continue doing it. We have the hotels secured again for workers who will be arriving in January. Making sure their stay is comfortable in those two weeks of quarantine is really important. We have tweaked the program a little bit to make sure that people arriving have more information and the way workers and farms are able to communicate together and with us, is going to be excellent. “The pandemic has shone a big light on the life of temporary foreign workers, and we have seen right across the country that housing is an issue. I have been working hard with the Mexican consulate on this.
“There are amazing farms that have excellent accommodation and generally they do, but when it is bad, it is bad. You can wag fingers at the farms that don’t have good housing but really that doesn’t fix the problem. We need to figure out how do we get the resources where they are needed to look after the workers in the way they need to be looked after. We shouldn’t expect people to live in housing that we would not live in ourselves. That is the bottom line.”
O&V
“Are there any other initiatives you see coming out of your new mandate letter?”
Minister Popham
“Well, it is a renewed mandate, so I am carrying on. But the profile is a bit higher because resilience and self-sufficiency are key words of the day for the Premier. I think the change in my title says it all, Agriculture Food and Fisheries. We have now acknowledged how important food processing and fisheries are to the portfolio.
“One of the coolest things is plans to set up a regenerative agriculture network. Regenerative agriculture is of course one of the oldest ways of doing agriculture, but now it is also cutting edge, because it has the ability to address climate change. Agriculture so often gets fingers pointed at it for being a culprit in emissions and this is going to help agriculture have a tool to fight climate change, because a regenerative agriculture network will involve looking at ways we can sequester carbon on farmland.
“People think, well, that is just an organic growers’ approach, but actually for conventional growers there is an umbrella that they can get under too. It involves all types of agriculture. And that way we can use Agri-tech which is heavy in my mandate for testing and using technology to come up with ways to become more efficient.”
How many acres do you farm
34% 10 ACRES + UNDER
29% 11-25
24% 26-99 ACRES
13% 100+ ACRES
22%
Need to purchase another tractor
1-2
50% 3-4
24% 5-9
11% 10+
16%
How many tractors do you operate?
USE APPS 15%
DON'T USE APPS 85%
Do you use any software or apps that help you work with your tractor? Like Weather apps, GPS, precision mapping software.
Photo by Pawel Brzozowski Shutterstock.com
BOTH
32%
USED
16% NEW
53%
Do you prefer to buy a new or used tractor?
NEW OR USED? "Both as long as it does the job and is affordable" "New for the types that are not usually available used and get a lot of hours every year." "Prefer new with warranty" "Not buying someone elses mistakes I am concerned about history of use" "Always used the same brand. No need to research. Don’t fix what isn’t broken." " Prefer new but if I can find a used with low hours I will go with used." " Depending what is available, or what looking for." How much research do you do before buying a tractor?
51% COMPARE MODELS, BRANDS & PRICE
45% CONSULT A SALES REP
40% TALK TO FRIENDS & FAMILY
63%
Plan to buy a new implement or machinery
35% SPRAYER
32% DELEAFER UNDER ROW MOWER
29% SPREADER
Other implements on the wish list • Bin Trailer • Bucket • Compost spreader • Grape Hoe • Grapple • Hedgerow trimmer for summer pruning • In line cultivator • Leaf remover • Mower • Mulcher • Multi use tool bar over the row • Picking Machine • Plough • Pre-pruner • Pruning Sweeper • PTO driven snow blower • Shredder • Vineyard mower • Weed Cultivator
The Tractor Survey Orchard & Vine Readers Talk Tractors
What are your goals for 2021?
The goal is to attempt to get through the covid scene with my employees. To be able to open the tasting room more often…
Planting a couple acres of syrah. Replacing old vines of a different varietal. New irrigation system for the same site as well.
Install drip line one block.
Plant a bit more ground crop.
SAWP from Mexico to begin early enough for pruning. Replant one block.
Photo by www.kubota.ca
Removing an older cherry block and replanting.
Take out orchard apples.
Planting pears.
Farming with no herbicides.
Two acres of pinot gris going in this year. Otherwise just hoping our foreign workers arrive.
More cover crops, soil improvement and less spraying. Waiting for the bubble to burst on land prices before I buy more land.
Survival, new planting.
Keep excelling at what we do!
Make some money.
Retire.
The Robots Coming to a Farm Near You
By Gary Symons
Three years ago, in February of 2018, we took our first deep dive into the world of Artificial Intelligence in agriculture. At the time, Case had come out with its Autonomous Concept Vehicle in 2017, a tractor with no cab because it had no driver. The concept vehicle ran by itself using a combination of AI and sensors like cameras, LIDAR, and GPS. But Case was hardly alone in this new area of research and development. Companies large and small are developing new technologies for precision farming that bring AI-powered robotics and advanced sensor technology onto the farm. In fact, while the topic of autonomous passenger vehicles gets more press, it’s the agriculture industry that is leading the way in development of autonomous or intelligent devices like tractors, intelligent sprayers, precision picking and seeding devices, and drones that can survey or even target spray the fields. There are powerful reasons for this research, which is driven by an agricultural dilemma. With the world’s population soaring to an estimated 10 billion people by 2050, farmers must produce 50 per cent more food while greatly reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and their use of herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), farming and forestry is the single greatest driver of global warming, other than the production of energy itself. IPCC scientists concluded that land use for farming and forestry produces almost a quarter (24 per cent) of all the human-caused greenhouse gases, measured as CO2 equivalents (CO2-e). Agriculture is also the largest producer of the most dangerous greenhouse gases like methane (30X worse than CO2 per tonne) and nitrous oxide from fertilizers (300X worse than CO2 per tonne). Increased use of fertilizers have also increased the issues with deadly algae blooms due to phosphorous runoff, not to mention the environmental issues caused by herbicides and pesticides. Increasing production without greatly increasing efficiency and lowering the use of these agricultural inputs would, according to climatologists and ecologists, result in an unprecedented environmental disaster that could even threaten life on earth. The goal today is to double food production without clearing more land, and while reaching carbon neutrality. With so much at stake, agricultural technology companies are pulling out all the stops in a bid to massively increase efficiency and productivity, and lower the use of agricultural inputs. Orchard and Vine has already covered many of these innovations over the years. A good example would be the fully automated, robotic weeding machine developed by Eleos Robotics in BC. The purpose of Eleos is to largely eliminate spraying of herbicides by automating the pulling of weeds, using a tireless robotic assistant that also lowers costs for the farmer.
Eleos is among a growing number of companies developing completely autonomous tractors or devices that can act with greater precision than human labour. In fact, a sprawling report by Research and Markets predicts the market for farm tractors will more than double - from less than $30 billion today to $60.7 billion by 2025 - as the “autonomous farm tractor becomes an essential constituent of precision agriculture.” Every large tractor company in the world is investing in this sector. Research and Markets lists two dozen companies making big strides in this area of research, including John Deere, Mahindra, Kubota, and Case, among others. John Deere, for example, paid $305 million to buy Blue River Technology three years ago to enhance its R&D into autonomous vehicles and precision farming. Blue River had previously raised $31
Blue River combines computer vision and sophisticated machine learning algorithms to spray selectively. The X Tractor by Kubota can sense everything from the weather to the terrain to the growth rate of plants.
million in venture funding, and subsequently developed precision farming technology that the company claimed could reduce the volume of chemicals used on the farm by up to 90 per cent. Blue River’s tech includes “integrated computer vision” matched with AI that can see and identify weeds among the crops, and precisely target herbicides to the affected area, largely eliminating widespread spraying. “These [sprayers] are better equipped for individual [weed] variants that we see on farms every single day,” said Lee Redden, co-founder and chief technology officer of Blue River. “It allows you to decrease the amount of herbicide you’re applying.” Other companies, like tech giant Bosch, have also released systems that autonomously identify weeds, and precisely target spray to the infestation. In January, 2020, Kubota unveiled a stunning new autonomous tractor with a decidedly Robocop vibe, powered by solar-generated electricity and boasting advanced artificial intelligence. Called the X Tractor, the machine can sense everything from the weather to the terrain to the growth rate of plants, taking in the data needed to precisely apply fertilizer or pesticides, to quickly and precisely seed the fields, or to harvest crops. The X Tractor runs on four sets of tracks, and can raise or lower its chassis to better accomplish the task at hand, or turn in a tight circle like a tank. Designed to operate even in rice paddies, the X Tractor is able to drive autonomously over the most difficult terrain with no human intervention.
But it’s not just tractors that are seeing revolutionary change. The war on agricultural waste has also launched an air campaign, as dozens of companies have produced intelligent drones that accomplish a wide variety of tasks. Most farmers by now are familiar with drones that take multispectral images that help identify differences between healthy and distressed plants. There are two main types of drones in use today. The first are the fixed wing craft that can cover large areas very quickly, but lack as much detail in their images, and the second being the multi-rotor drones that don’t cover as much ground, but provide much more precise and detailed imagery. Drones, some of them autonomous, are now taking over the jobs of more expensive crop sprayers, and have been doing so since 2015 when the Federal Aviation Authority in the US approved the Yamaha RMAX as the first drone over 55 pounds (25kg) to be able to carry tanks filled with fertilizers, pesticides or other chemicals.
One 2019 study in Brazil showed the benefits of precision drone spraying when farmers used a senseFly eBee X drone combined with xarvio Field Manager software to detect and then eradicate weed infestations. The study found that the farmers used 52 per cent less herbicides, but those results are expected to improve as companies like senseFly or Skyx improve their technology in coming years. Another innovative company, FlashForest in Canada, has taken drone technology a giant step further, creating a system to plant tree seedlings for forestry companies using large rotary drones. The drones essentially fires specially created seed pods into the earth, using a combination of its seed-pod technology, aerial mapping software, and AI automation. While the technology is currently only being used in forestry, it’s not hard to see the potential for rapid, mass seeding on the farm as well.
This revolution in autonomous farming also impacts another major farm input; namely, labour. In many modern, industrialized countries it can be very difficult to find affordable, trained farm workers, and Canada brings in thousands of seasonal workers every year to fill the gap. From 1950 to 2010, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), agricultural labourers as a percentage of the workforce declined from 81% to 48.2% in developing countries, and from 35% to 4.2% in developed ones. Autonomous robots working tirelessly in the fields are now capable of doing most of the onerous, repetitive work, and it is almost certain that they will not only ease the labour shortage, but also take jobs away from human workers. In France, it was the chronic shortage of farm labour that led Christophe Millot to develop a vine-pruning robot called Wall-Ye. The tiny robot is fast and accurate, making a cut every five seconds on average, working 10 to 12 hours on a single charge, and able to work day and night. The fascinating question is just how far the technology can go. Just 10 years ago all of the technologies described here were the stuff of science fiction, and most of them have achieved some sort of commercial viability in only the past six years. But as investment in climate friendly technologies increases, and the demand for clean, sustainable food rises, it’s not difficult to imagine that over the next decade the sight of ‘robot farmers’ will become increasingly common.
John Deere’s new autonomous tractor concept has a very compact electric drive unit.
