FARMING

that embraces these robots can be more efficient than a large farm.”

Yet, getting farmers in Alberta to embrace the latest ag-tech can be a challenge when some practices have been around for hundreds of years. Woolliams recalls several years ago at Christmas dinner when he was trying to convince his uncle of the merits of adding autosteer to his tractor. “My uncle’s comment was basically, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t see the value in this.’ So, we sat down at the table after dinner and ran the numbers. It paid for itself, but he couldn’t see it at the time. Now he wouldn’t go without it,” Woolliams says.

Not all farmers have someone like Woolliams who is willing to help them alleviate their tech trepidation. But several government initiatives and private innovation hubs are trying to keep Alberta agriculture on the vanguard.

In May 2022, the Alberta government announced a $3.2 million investment to support 10 projects that enhance food production through digital solutions and automation. The funded projects include a hand-held blood analysis device that can predict sheep pregnancy and litter size using AI, robotics to enhance pork and beef grading, and the use of machine learning to predict agricultural impacts on soil health.

Smart Eating

We’ve all been there: Lunch rolls around, and, with limited time and choices, you wind up grabbing fast food, or spending $20 on a salad or smoothie. What if, on those busy days, a healthy, reasonably priced, even locally sourced option was within reach and didn’t require you to pack it yourself? Enter Naka. On a mission to make healthy food convenient and affordable, this Calgary-based company’s refrigerated automatic stores are popping up in office buildings and co-working spaces around the city. Stocked with fresh, nutritious products from Alberta companies, including Inspired Go, Nutri-Go, Well Juices and Rviita Energy Tea, the smart fridges are accessible via an app. Simply browse the menu and select the item you want in the app, then scan the QR code on the fridge to open it; once you grab your salad, chia pudding or cold-pressed juice, you’re charged for it through the app, too. Choosing something good for you has never been so simple. –D.L. nakahealthyfoods.ca

Non-profit tech accelerator Platform Calgary also recently announced a partnership with SVG Ventures Thrive, the leading global agrifood investment and innovation platform from Silicon Valley. The strategic collaboration will launch the Agrifood Innovation Digital Hub for Canada in the heart of Calgary to support Canadian startups and technologies that offer a more secure, sustainable or efficient future for the national agriculture sector.

“The activity and the number of options in terms of technologies and tools and practices that are being thrown at producers is just tremendous,” says Dr. Joy Agnew, associate vice president of Applied Research at Olds College.

Agnew was recruited to Olds College in 2018 to lead the research division and the development of the Olds College Smart Farm. The 3,600-acre plot of fields acts as a proving ground for ag-tech companies and is also a place for Agnew’s team to research novel innovations in farming.

In its first five years, the Smart Farm and applied research program attracted more than $50 million in external investment and engaged 108 Alberta-based small and medium-sized enterprises. Face-recognition AI that can identify animals within herds from pictures and video, drones that can classify hail-damaged areas within fields, and a mobile app that can assess crop disease are just a few of the innovations being explored through applied research projects.

“Many people don’t realize that agriculture isn’t just your traditional primary production farm. The tech side of it has just exploded in the last decade,” says Stacy Felkar, Co-Manager of AgSmart, an educational expo hosted by Olds College each August that focuses on data and technology in the agriculture industry.

The Smart Farm communicates all of its non-proprietary research and findings for free to thousands of Alberta farmers online; through facts sheets, newsletters and magazines; and in person through community engagement events, meetings and conferences. The litany of outreach is to help farmers narrow in on proven technologies that can be adopted on their farms.

“When you look at ag-tech adoption rates, it’s slow and steady for good reason because it’s so risky. Farming is a business with razor-thin margins. Nobody wants to be the guinea pig. Nobody wants to be the first to try something,” says Agnew.

While agritech may be a lucrative opportunity for upstarts and entrepreneurs, it’s essential for Canadian farmers’ survival.

“It’s a very competitive industry,” Woolliams says. “You have to be progressive right now or you won’t be around in the future.”

BY CAROL PATTERSON