By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
I have always found this time of year fascinating as we watch crops burst from the soil. As the days of summer pass all too quickly, a farmer’s thoughts turn to harvest.
As we know, wheat has just been taken off and last week I learned how to drive a combine thanks to Doug, Matthew, and Beverly of Petheram Farms Ltd. Modern combines are packed with hydraulics, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and computer systems that receive data on things like temperature and moisture of the crop. Imagine what wheat harvesters of the 1800s would think.
Over the past 10,000 years, agriculture has come a long way, but the pace of innovation and change has rapidly accelerated over the past few decades. Think of the days when a farmer went out and applied water, fertilizer, and pesticides uniformly across entire fields. Now, they use the minimum amounts required and can target specific areas or even individual plants to increase crop productivity.
Today, technology on the farm is vital to compete in the global marketplace. Advancements on the farm have changed the way farmers work; ultimately allowing them to reach new levels of efficiency and precision with respect to crop management.
I’ve been in robotic milking barns and absolutely blown away by the cleanliness and technology. Farmers who once missed events like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners because they had to milk the herd can now sit down to turkey dinner with the rest of the family because robots take care of the heavy lifting. And the farmer can monitor the barn and what’s happening right from his or her phone.
On July 11th I attended the AgRobotics Working Group Demo Day at the Ontario Crops Research Centre on Blueline Road in Simcoe. AgRobotics Working Group is a membership-driven association striving to advance the introduction of innovative agriculture and food robotics and automation systems to improve farm productivity and the quality of our food. The group is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and is administered by the Western Fair Association in London. Thank you for an exciting and informative day.
There were many farmers and industry professionals on hand to see demos and presentations from Naio, Vivid Machines, AgXeed, Vitirover, Burro and Harvest Corp Technologies. The latter is a Tillsonburg company that is trialing an autonomous, automatic harvester for use in asparagus crops. The machine operates at 0.6 kilometres per hour, can run 24 hours a day and can therefore harvest 60 spears of asparagus per minute or 30 acres per day. If you check out the company’s website, it cheekily says the machine won’t call in sick or take lunch breaks.
Labour shortages have plagued the industry over the past few years, and undoubtedly robots could help in that regard. At the end of the day a great crop means nothing if it can’t be harvested.
Despite the excitement of the day, concerns over Ontario being left behind were raised. Government must provide greater incentives to home-grown manufacturers of robotic equipment because currently, most of the technology comes from Europe. Cutting red tape and regulation would be a good first step.
In response to my social media, a friend of mine commented her family farm has developed a way to automate strawberry harvest “but the government’s red tape is outrageous.” She emphasized they cannot secure funding for their invention, but had they purchased it third party they would have been funded half the cost. If our farmers and manufacturers are being innovative then it’s time to incentivize them.
Innovation is critical to Ontario’s success in agriculture and if we fall behind on the technology front, we will indeed miss out on opportunities to grow.
Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk