Access to reliable, timely weather forecasts can help farmers prepare for the weeks ahead, find the best time to plant or determine how much fertilizer will be needed, resulting in better crop yields and lower costs.

Yet, in many low- and middle-income countries, accurate weather forecasts remain out of reach, limited by the high technology costs and infrastructure demands of traditional forecasting models.

A new wave of AI-powered weather forecasting models has the potential to change that.

By using artificial intelligence, these models can deliver accurate, localized predictions at a fraction of the computational cost of conventional physics-based models. This makes it possible for national meteorological agencies in developing countries to provide farmers with the timely, localized information about changing rainfall patterns that the farmers need.

The challenge is getting this technology where it’s needed.

Why AI forecasting matters now

The physics-based weather prediction models used by major meteorological centers around the world are powerful but costly. They simulate atmospheric physics to forecast weather conditions ahead, but they require expensive computing infrastructure. The cost puts them out of reach for most developing countries.

Moreover, these models have mainly been developed by and optimized for northern countries. They tend to focus on temperate, high-income regions and pay less attention to the tropics, where many low- and middle-income countries are located.

A major shift in weather models began in 2022 as industry and university researchers developed deep learning models that could generate accurate short- and medium-range forecasts for locations around the globe up to two weeks ahead.

These models worked at speeds several orders of magnitude faster than physics-based models, and they could run on laptops instead of supercomputers. Newer models, such as Pangu-Weather and GraphCast, have matched or even outperformed leading physics-based systems for some predictions, such as temperature.

AI-driven models require dramatically less computing power than the traditional systems.

While physics-based systems may need thousands of CPU hours to run a single forecast cycle, modern AI models can do so using a single GPU in minutes once the model has been trained. This is because the intensive part of the AI model training, which learns relationships in the climate from data, can use those learned relationships to produce a forecast without further extensive computation – that’s a major shortcut. In contrast, the physics-based models need to calculate the physics for each variable in each place and time for every forecast produced.

While training these models from physics-based model data does require significant upfront investment, once the AI is trained, the model can generate large ensemble forecasts — sets of multiple forecast runs — at a fraction of the computational cost of physics-based models.

Even the expensive step of training an AI weather model shows considerable computational savings. One study found the early model FourCastNet could be trained in about an hour on a supercomputer. That made its time to presenting a forecast thousands of times faster than state-of-the-art, physics-based models.

The result of all these advances: high-resolution forecasts globally within seconds on a single laptop or desktop computer.

Research is also rapidly advancing to expand the use of AI for forecasts weeks to months ahead, which helps farmers in making planting choices. AI models are already being tested for improving extreme weather prediction, such as for extratropical cyclones and abnormal rainfall.

Tailoring forecasts for real-world decisions

While AI weather models offer impressive technical capabilities, they are not plug-and-play solutions. Their impact depends on how well they are calibrated to local weather, benchmarked against real-world agricultural conditions, and aligned with the actual decisions farmers need to make, such as what and when to plant, or when drought is likely.

To unlock its full potential, AI forecasting must be connected to the people whose decisions it’s meant to guide.

That’s why groups such as AIM for Scale, a collaboration we work with as researchers in public policy and sustainability, are helping governments to develop AI tools that meet real-world needs, including training users and tailoring forecasts to farmers’ needs. International development institutions and the World Meteorological Organization are also working to expand access to AI forecasting models in low- and middle-income countries.

AI forecasts can be tailored to context-specific agricultural needs, such as identifying optimal planting windows, predicting dry spells or planning pest management. Disseminating those forecasts through text messages, radio, extension agents or mobile apps can then help reach farmers who can benefit. This is especially true when the messages themselves are constantly tested and improved to ensure they meet the farmers’ needs.

A recent study in India found that when farmers there received more accurate monsoon forecasts, they made more informed decisions about what and how much to plant – or whether to plant at all – resulting in better investment outcomes and reduced risk.

A new era in climate adaptation

AI weather forecasting has reached a pivotal moment. Tools that were experimental just five years ago are now being integrated into government weather forecasting systems. But technology alone won’t change lives.

With support, low- and middle-income countries can build the capacity to generate, evaluate and act on their own forecasts, providing valuable information to farmers that has long been missing in weather services.

—Paul Winters is professor of sustainable development at the University of Notre Dame. Amir Jina is assistant professor of public policy at the University of Chicago.

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AgriEnhance

Agi3 Risk Services rolled out its AgriEnhance program in 2023.

The program uses data like legal land descriptions, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), climatic volatility, soil type and soil moisture, and combines it with farms’ crop plans, claims and production history to generate an individualized premium for the farm based on its specific risk profile. The process is powered by artificial intelligence.

Producers frequently use the program to complement AgriInsurance crop insurance, though some farms use it as standalone insurance alongside AgriStability said Kyle Gibson, Agi3’s managing director of operations. It can be used on an individual crop or whole-farm basis.

Premiums may vary based on if the canola is planted in the north end or the south end of the farm that year, Gibson said.

“We’re pricing your risk. We’re not pricing your neighbor’s risk into your premiums,” Gibson said.

Agi3 is looking to incorporate behavioral data into its insurance as well.

“We can link in and we can see your combine, and what it’s doing, how it’s being used. You can let us know some of your best management practices are,” Gibson said.

Based on this data, the farm’s score could go up and that will correlate to a discount.

“It’s monetary compensation by discounting.”

Agi3 is currently working with a select farms on this type of insurance.

ForwardProtect

Agi3 launched ForwardProtect this year. The program protects farms from penalties if they can’t fulfill forward contracts due to issues like yield shortfalls.

Agi3 founders Ray Bouchard and Lysa Porth saw the need for the program after many producers weren’t able to fulfill contracts after 2021’s severe drought, Gibson said.

“Since then, forward contracting has decreased significantly,” he said.

“Now we can come in there and give them the confidence to go after that price increase,” because the farmer knows they’ll be backed up should things go wrong, Gibson said.

ForwardProtect is also individualized to the farm.

FarmElevate

FarmElevate is a property and casualty insurance product designed to give strong coverage to “best in class” farms, said Gibson.

The program targets farms that are following best risk management practices, are more progressive with data sharing, have strong data integrity and accuracy, and may be growing or may have a lot of equipment that may not be fully covered by conventional insurance. For example, the farm may need higher loss-of-use coverage than offered by their current insurance policy.

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Farm Credit Canada and Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) have unveiled a generative artificial intelligence tool that will deliver “timely advice (that) producers can use immediately.”

The tool is called Root.

FCC says it will help farmers adopt best practices, right from their phones.

“Root is more than a technology solution, it’s part of a broader effort to bring back something Canadian agriculture has lost: accessible, trusted and timely insight,” Justine Hendricks, FCC president and chief executive, said in a release.

“With the decline of local advisory networks (extension services), too many farmers and ranchers have had to rely on fragmented information or go at it alone. By partnering with RDAR, we’re helping producers access the kind of expertise that once came from decades of community-based knowledge sharing.”

Many agronomists, livestock specialists and extension experts would take issue with the idea that farmers no longer have trusted and timely advice.

Nonetheless, it is correct to say that government cutbacks have reduced extension services. There are fewer people on the Prairies that provide unbiased and relevant information to producers.

There was a time, maybe 30 to 40 years ago, when provincial government reps were the clear-cut leaders of ag extension across Canada.

Provincial agriculture departments still employ specialists in regional offices, who are responsible for delivering the latest research and best information to livestock and crop producers.

Shrinking provincial extension services

But the number of provincial extension specialists has shrunk.

In some provinces, they have almost disappeared.

In October 2020, the Western Producer reported that the Alberta government had laid off about 135 Alberta Agriculture employees who worked in primary agriculture. That included research and extension staff.

“People always forget that Alberta Agriculture had offices across the province and there was a lot of co-operative work that was done,” said Ross McKenzie, a retired department employee.

“That capacity will be lost. You’ll see (applied research) groups … kind of pick up and carry on, but you won’t have that co-ordinated effort across the province that we had.”

Root might fill some of the void that exists in agricultural extension.

It was actually launched earlier this year and has already “supported” more than 2,900 conversations about farm management, including troubleshooting for problems with machinery, FCC said.

AI gathers research

Being an AI tool, Root can gather information and learn from the latest agricultural results from research done in Canada and elsewhere.

“We are especially keen on incorporating RDAR (research) materials into Root … making our materials accessible to producers and ranchers,” said Mark Redmond, RDAR’s chief executive officer.

“We are pleased to formalize our partnership with FCC; in the past, we have worked on initiatives concurrently, but now we will collaborate more closely.”

For years, commodity groups for grains, oilseeds, pulses and livestock have used podcasts, webinars, YouTube videos, Twitter (X) and other technologies to share the best information with their members.

The new AI tool could be helpful for producers, but some extension experts still believe personal relationships matter.

Tracy Herbert, the knowledge mobilization and communication director with the Beef Cattle Research Council, said those modern tools can be effective, but personable relationships are critical when it comes to adoption of new agricultural practices.

“Without someone you have a trusted relationship with, who can provide that customized guidance… it’s far less likely that you’ll get to the last step in that process (adoption).”

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Despite her best efforts, unpredictable temperatures, humidity and air quality changes led to the deaths of thousands of chicks, a lesson that would propel her to commit her life to making African farms more climate-resilient.

“Nigeria’s unprecedented rainfalls and weather patterns are not predictable, and with heat and cold stresses our birds were dying,” the 34-year-old agricultural engineer said in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“We understand that innovation is pivotal to combating climate-related issues around food insecurity,” she said.

Akpagbula last year launched a remote-sensing device called PenKeep that monitors and controls environmental conditions in poultry farms. She is now extending the technology into aquaculture and greenhouse farms.

Alongside container farms in South Africa cultivating soldier flies for animal feed, solar-powered fish and crop dryers in Tanzania and machine-learning pest detectors in Kenya, Africans are coming up with innovative solutions to overcome the effects of climate change on food production.

Such solutions are going to be needed as Africa, according to a new United Nations report, is the continent most impacted by hunger.

Together with conflict and economic crises, climate shocks are leaving Africa at the epicentre of a hunger crisis, with one in five – some 300 million people – short of food.

It is also the continent most vulnerable to climate shocks, while contributing the least to carbon emissions.

“Current societal inequalities, such as resource constraints, make it even more difficult to source funds to adapt to these changes,” said Mulako Kabisa, from the Global Change Institute research platform at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

“Home-grown solutions matter because they take into cognizance the local context … and what will be sustainable in the long run,” she said in emailed comments.

Sensors and solar

PenKeep’s solar-powered device interprets data from sensors that monitor environmental changes including temperature, water levels and air quality in poultry coops. Farmers are alerted of condition changes through SMS, email or an alarm.

It is being used by more than 1,200 chicken farmers in western and northern Nigeria, with more than 100,000 chickens monitored in the company’s first six months. Subscriptions of around $15 a month make it more affordable for farmers, Akpagbula said.

Users can also use an artificial intelligence (AI) management app called FS Manager that provides farmers with information including management advice, weather updates and book-keeping services.

“Nigeria has millions of poultry farmers … but they are not producing enough … because they are spending so much on energy and they have a lot of poultry mortality as a result of their environment,” said Akpagbula.

Farmers using PenKeep have seen poultry mortality rates decrease by 72 per cent, Akpagbula said.

In east Africa, Tanzanian Evodius Rutta also utilizes the continent’s abundance of sun through his MAVUNOLAB Solar Dryer that helps subsistence fish processors and farmers rapidly dry out produce including fish, fruits and vegetables, preventing post-harvest food loss.

Small-scale fish processors at Lake Victoria in western Tanzania have begun using his dryer, reducing the drying time of 250 kg of fish from 12 hours to four.

Climate variability has led to erratic rains that can spoil up to 50 per cent of fishermen’s harvests as they do not have access to cold storage, said Rutta, a sustainability researcher and MAVUNOLAB innovation hub founder.

“Because of the rains and high tides, it has also become very dangerous for fishermen that go to the sea and the lakes,” Rutta, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.

“We need low-cost solutions for farmers to adapt to changing climate patterns because it’s going to be unavoidable,” Rutta said, adding that he was getting requests from farmers in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya to use his invention.

Pest detection

Climate change can impact environmental factors such as temperature and humidity that can in turn influence the life cycle and spread of crop pests, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Pests are already responsible for at least 40 per cent of crop loss worldwide.

Kenyan computer scientist Esther Kimani witnessed this first-hand growing up when pests decimated up to one-third of her family’s pea, potato and maize crops in the south of Kenya.

By the time the pests were detected, the destruction was so severe that even using pesticides became pointless.

Kimani was inspired to invent the Early Crop Pest and Disease Detection Device – a solar-powered tool that uses AI and machine learning-enabled cameras to rapidly detect and alert farmers of pests and diseases.

Kimani’s invention is being used by more than 5,000 farmers across Kenya since its launch in 2020. A group-leasing model reduces the cost to each farmer to $3 per month.

The device also advises farmers about which pesticides to use when, according to predicted climatic changes.

Kimani estimates that more than 3,000 acres of land have been protected from pest infestation by her invention.

She recently won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s African Prize for Engineering Innovation, for which Akpagbula and Rutta were also short-listed.

Climate crisis

Some home-grown innovations are also focusing on protecting agricultural output while reducing carbon emissions.

South Africa’s Philafeed helps build tailor-made black soldier fly container farms. The fly larvae feed on food waste, diverting planet-heating methane emissions from landfills.

The larvae can also be used as a protein feed for livestock, reducing the need for carbon-intensive soya and fish meal.

The larvae manure, a byproduct known as frass, helps increase soil and plant tolerance against drought and flooding, and in turn can increase crop yield in times of climate uncertainty.

“Through black soldier flies we want farmers to be able to diversify their income if there is a failed season due to climate change,” said Maya Zaken, Philafeed co-founder.

Philafeed is currently piloting its new container model in Cape Town.

Despite initial funding challenges and struggles to get farmer buy-in, Akpagbula has faith that her innovation, alongside others on the continent, will soon become essential to farmers as climate shocks become more severe and more frequent.

“People always say why now? Why you doing this now?” said Akpagbula. “I tell them it’s because of the urgency of the climate crisis.”

—The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters. 

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The Stratus AirSprayer, a new drone tool unveiled by Saskatchewan-based Precision AI in July, is unlike anything she’s seen so far.

“I think they’ve got something really special,” says Meisser, who was invited to see the AirSprayer in action during field testing in New Mexico in May.

“There are a lot of things that make the Stratus AirSprayer unique,” she adds. “I think it will change how the farming community starts to think about managing crops. It’s going to shift some mindsets.”

The Stratus AirSprayer is different than the quadcopters and fixed-wing UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) typically associated with ag drones. Essentially, it’s a powered paraglider — one that can carry heavier loads and stay aloft much longer than conventional drones.

Daniel McCann, founder and CEO of Precision AI, says the advanced, autonomous aerial sprayer was designed to increase efficiency and maximize field time in the kind of large-acre farms found in Western Canada.

“Spray drones are great if you have 40 acres of onions or something like that,” says McCann. “But if you’ve got 10,000 acres of canola, good luck getting a small drone sprayer to cover that.”

The body of the Stratus AirSprayer is 3.25 metres (10 feet, eight inches) long, 2.1 metres (six feet, nine inches) wide and 2.25 metres (seven feet, five inches) high. It weighs 700 lbs. (318 kg) empty and can carry a payload of up to 833 lbs. (378 kg).

The machine has a three-blade propeller at the back powered by a Rotax 100-horsepower gasoline engine, and it relies on a 541-square-foot (50.3-metre) parachute or “soft wing” to stay aloft.

McCann acknowledges the Precision AI team was a bit worried at first about how the UAV’s parachute would go over, given that it’s so different.

But he says that really hasn’t been a concern, once farmers are shown how the Stratus AirSprayer works, and they can see how handling the parachute isn’t any harder than folding and unfolding a spray boom.

The flight speed of the AirSprayer is just under 40 m.p.h. (61 km/h) and it is able to take off from a farmer’s field as long as there is 350 to 500 feet (107 to 152 metres) of runway room available. When the job’s done, the hardware can be loaded onto a flatbed truck or a 12-foot trailer, and the canopy folded and packed up into an easy-to-carry travel bag.

The Stratus AirSprayer can carry 100 U.S. gallons (378 litres) of herbicide, fungicide or insecticide solutions, which according to Precision AI is almost 20 times more than smaller ag drones. A bigger payload means more time in the air and more acres covered in a day.

The gas-powered AirSprayer can fly up to five hours before refueling, which McCann maintains is an obvious advantage over electric drones. “Your typical spray drones, even the big ones, typically max out at about 10 minutes of airtime, then you’ve got to swap batteries and refill it,” he says.

All this can mean substantial savings for farmers. Precision AI maintains it costs less than $3 per acre to operate the Stratus AirSprayer, a fraction of the cost of traditional drone technology which it says ranges from $6 to $13 per acre.

The automated Stratus AirSprayer can do precise GPS-guided broadcast sprays in two interchangeable swath widths, one 18 feet (5.5-metre) wide and the other 30 feet (nine-metres) wide.

A Generation Two version of the AirSprayer, slated to be released soon after the Generation One model, will feature green-on-green spray capability, developed by Precision AI with the use of artificial intelligence and advanced computer vision.

McCann says even with its high-tech capabilities, the Stratus AirSprayer isn’t difficult to operate and maintain, adding to its appeal to farmers. “Except for the onboard AI system, everything can be fixed fairly easily.”

While the Stratus AirSprayer is designed to allow farmers to do large-scale aerial applications on their own, it isn’t meant to compete directly with crop dusters and other aerial spraying businesses. Instead, Precision AI views them as potential partners as the UAV is unrolled in the Canadian market.

That likely won’t happen right away, as the Canadian government hasn’t yet approved using drones in aerial applications of crop protectant products. Precision AI is on a committee to advise Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on the necessary changes required to allow spraying from UAVs.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got the technology that can be used as an automated aerial sprayer. It’s built out, and we just need to wait for the regulatory environment to catch up,” says McCann.

Precision AI hopes the PMRA will follow the lead of U.S. regulators and release a decision soon approving the use of drones for ag chemical applications. In the meantime, Precision AI plans to continue testing in the U.S. as well as on farms in Western Canada as it prepares for a limited release of the Stratus AirSprayer next year.

Meisser views the AirSprayer as a good value proposition, both in terms of productivity and return on investment. She also sees it as a very practical solution for farmers looking to get the most out of their crops.

“The Precision AI team is really connected to the farming community and are trying to build solutions for farmers with farmers. I think that they’re solving problems that matter,” she says.

“I think they just got down to brass tacks to determine what does this (machine) really need to do.”

In Meisser’s eyes, it won’t take long for the Stratus AirSprayer to gain traction among farmers once it catches on with leading-edge ag adopters and influencers willing to give the technology a try.

“You just need some strong ambassadors to showcase the technology,” she says. “Farmers are the most innovative people I know. They solve problems on a daily basis, and it doesn’t take any of them too long to identify where they see value. I think they will embrace it.”

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“Recent demographic forecasting suggests we are looking at a world population that will peak in a couple of decades and then go into decline,” says a recent report from Nourish Food Marketing.

It blames reduced fertility rates, increased urbanization, the recent pandemic and an aging population for the projected population “bust” and says that means the number of calories needed will decline.

However, it couples this with the growing effects of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

Ozempic is a brand name for drug semaglutide, a drug originally developed for diabetes. However, its ability to induce weight-loss was popularized in the last couple of years by celebrities and social media influencers.

Demand became so high in the U.S. that, coupled with supply issues, it led to a shortage of the drug in early 2023, NBC reported.

Wegovy, a weight-loss specific version of the drug, has been hard to find in Canada, Global News reported on Feb. 5, however by this spring its projected to become more widely available.

“As more drugs in this class become available, the price will fall, and the number of insurance/benefits companies willing to fund them will rise due to the positive overall health outcomes and lower related claims,” the Nourish report said. “Both these effects could dampen demand for food and reshape the food ecosystem.”

“You can’t eat as much,” said Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish. “You also end up consuming those calories differently.”

This already appears to be shifting consumption, McArthur said.

“The Walmarts of the world who have been tracking this in the U.S. through their consumer data are already seeing shifts in behaviour.”

Pepsi, Nestle and Walmart have mentioned this in earns calls, McArthur said.

Not all companies are concerned. In an Oct. 5 Wall Street Journal report, Conagra CEO Sean Connolly said a significant drop in calorie consumption was a long way.

Conagra owns such brands as Orville Redenbacher, Duncan Hines and Slim Jim. Snacks, Connolly said, are among the fastest growing and most profitable sectors of food.

If consumers began turning, en masse, to healthier food, they’ll develop new products, he added.

Trends to watch

Along with the ‘Ozempic effect,’ Nourish suggested artificial intelligence–AI–was something to watch going forward.

“At the farm level, AI will enable insight-driven farming, resulting in maximum yields with fewer inputs,” it wrote.

“It would be like adding a full-time analytics team without the associated costs.”

Food and food-service companies are making creative use of the technology–e.g. Miso Robotics’ ‘Flippy,’ a robotic kitchen assistant that can autonomously cook French fries, nuggets and other fried items.

However, greater implementation of AI will necessitate more skilled workers, Nourish added.

In agriculture, “An engineering degree may be just as relevant as a traditional degree from an agricultural college,” the report said.

Nourish also predicted that in the future, water will no longer be considered a free good.

Water shortages and droughts have been all over the news, the report said. This is making consumers think of water as a finite resource and take steps to steward it well.

Water stewardship could be the next battleground, Nourish said, and agriculture is the “world’s most water-intensive industry.”

Nourish’s other trends to watch are a mainstreaming of alcohol moderation; a return to simpler meat alternatives; the rise of Generation Alpha; a focus on eating for brain health; and a rising concern for biodiversity in agriculture.

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The move builds on McCain’s 2022 acquisition of a “predictive crop portfolio” from Resson, a Fredricton, New Brunswick firm that uses artificial intelligence to advise farmers on crop management decisions.

McCain, in a media release, said the Presia launch is “the result of a decade of collaboration to develop digital technologies, supporting farmers in building resiliency within their operations.”

McCain says the technology will allow farmers and “crop-sourcing partners” to evaluate and predict crop yields, optimize harvest timing, and enhance on-farm sustainability. The firm will use “satellite-based, data-driven intelligence” to garner these insights.

Peter Dawe, McCain’s chief growth and strategy officer said in the release that the launch advances the firm’s “innovative agriculture agenda” and will build on the firm’s expertise in the potato sector.

“It is driving data intelligence that is helping us change the way we grow a potato,” he said.

Tyler Hennick, managing director of Presia, said producers who use the technology can expect deeper insights into their farm operations.

“We are proud to offer existing and new customers more frequent and accurate readings on their in-season crop performance within and across entire fields and regions,” he said.

The Presia team is “comprised primarily” of data scientists and software developers, and is based in Ontario and Eastern Canada, and has “nearly a decade of experience” working with crop-monitoring technology on potatoes.

While the focus is currently on potatoes, Presia’s data and models could be expanded to other crops in the future, Presia said.

“We are focused initially on measuring plant health, supporting crop quality, and tracking regenerative agriculture practices. This expertise has been built within potato with plans to support similar insights in other specialty crops,” Hennick said.

“We are getting more data on region and variety-specific nuances to inform our modelling and can work with our partners to measure the indicators that matter to them most.”

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Many folks in the ag business have likely heard of precision agriculture, but how about precision ranching? Well, technology has reached the point where that term may be about to get more familiar.

OneCup AI is a technology that can monitor and track animal health, welfare, activity, growth and nutrition using computer-based vision and a system called BETSY (Bovine Expert Tracking and Surveillance) – all from the convenience of your smartphone.

In this video recorded at Ag in Motion earlier this summer, Glacier FarmMedia machinery reporter Scott Garvey speaks with Mokah Shmigelsky, CEO of OneCup AI, about how the monitoring system works and how BETSY recognizes and identifies individual animals.

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The technology will enable producers to make more appropriate decisions through field data imagery. According to McCain, both high and low-altitude imagery will be provided that will target key metrics that will help producers improve crop development and yield.

McCain’s inclination to use more innovative technology comes at no surprise as they experiment with various technologies at their Farms of the Future site in Florenceville, N.B., where they are working on regenerative farming practices. 

“The acquisition is pivotal to McCain’s innovation agenda and our ambition to use digital technology to transform agriculture,” said Jillian Moffatt, Chief Technology Officer, McCain Foods Limited.

While the aim of the technology is to improve crop productivity by the acre, Moffatt also believes it can happen at all stages of the supply chain to improve yield, cost, and other key outcomes for growers and processors.

McCain says their future goal is to scale this technology beyond just their own Farms of the Future and to external food processors and growers. 

“We hope this technology can support a variety of growers and companies across the sector,” said Moffatt. 

Resson’s team that works on predictive crop intelligence is set to join McCain and become a new business unit within them. Resson as a whole will continue to work and develop other technology for detecting pests, disease, and other crop metrics.

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Not-for-profit organization Palette Skills has launched a new eight-week online program for Saskatchewan residents focused on automation and digitization in agricultural production and processing. The enrolment deadline for the new program was May 22.

Palette’s automation and digital agriculture specialist program, running June 6 to July 29, is billed as allowing its candidates to specialize in “identifying, managing, and implementing technologies to solve challenges and improve efficiencies across the agri-food value chain.”

More specifically, it focuses on “emerging technologies” in the agrifood sector such as GIS (geographic information systems), IoT (the Internet of Things), unmanned aerial vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, sensors and big data.

Workers who are “upskilled” through the program “can expect to develop careers in technology and business, farm robotics, agriculture automation, precision agriculture and production management,” the University of Saskatchewan, which supported the program’s design, said in a recent release.

The program is looking to recruit participants from Indigenous communities, newcomers to Canada, recent graduates and “experienced professionals looking to transition into the growing and exciting agri-food sector,” the U of S said.

“Today’s employees often need to understand how data and digital tools are being incorporated into everything from on-farm agriculture to food manufacturing,” said Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, the federally-backed plant protein supercluster billed as a co-investor in the program.

“By having increased access to the right skills and talent, trailblazing companies across the country can increase their workforce, expanding their production and, as a result, growing Canada’s plant-based food and ingredient ecosystem.”

More information about the program and its format is available on the Palette Skills website.

CORRECTION, May 24, 2022: An earlier version of this article incorrectly characterized the automation and digital agriculture specialist program as a University of Saskatchewan program. We regret the error.

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