As farms continue to increase in size, certain equipment manufacturers race to provide high-horsepower machinery that can stretch a farmer’s reach when they seed, spray and harvest. Farmers also require these increasingly efficient options to contend with a shrinking agricultural labour pool.

The country’s agriculture sector owes much to innovative ag entrepreneurs, many of them farmers, who have invented first-of-its-kind products that solve pressing problems. Collectively, their independent companies are known as short line manufacturers. A term they’ve grown into, it delineates how they create tailored solutions for localized problems.

Oil and gas production remains the province’s golden ticket, but with a sustained push, renewables continue to fight for market share. So many projects have gone into development or are at the assessment stage, it’s been hard to keep up. One of the newest types of builds is agrivoltaics, which has attracted big interest from farmers and corporate investors alike.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly revolutionizing processes that underpin sectors from astronomy and health care to manufacturing and entertainment. Research and development of AI in agriculture and agri-food is likewise revolutionary, with products now available or galloping toward commercial release.

Substantial growth in the biologicals market has been driven in part by stricter pesticide regulations and by farmers who wish to produce higher yielding, more resilient crops. Biologicals represent a broad category of plant protection products, including biostimulants, biopesticides and biofertilizers.

Prairie farmers continue to deal effectively with grain diseases of all kinds. This is due to an efficient new variety pipeline, access to certified seed and a host of crop protection products and cultural practices. Reassuring as this is, farmers must remain vigilant in the fight against crop diseases such as Fusarium head blight, rust, bunt and smut. Likewise, researchers work to produce resistant varieties and create tools so farmers can curb incidence rates.

While school exams can cause anxiety, testing seed can net valuable quality information and peace of mind. “Testing of any seed at harvest, as well as testing throughout storage, is very important,” said Sarah Foster, president and senior seed analyst at 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku. “Seed is at its prime when it first comes off the field. If you store it at the right moisture level, dry it when necessary and monitor it in the bin, you can maintain it in prime condition.”

Farmers have long endured the stereotype of being stoic and aloof, completely self-reliant. Today, one of the hottest trends in agriculture is turning this notion on its head. The radical idea is … wait for it … talking.

Whether it’s pernicious pests, an unpredictable climate or increasing costs, threats to cereal crops constantly evolve. To build and maintain a sustainable system for cereal production in Canada requires the ability to adapt. There are few better examples of adaptability in agriculture than the efforts made by plant breeders to assist farmers. 

When Rayann Campmans signed up for the Picture Butte High School agricultural program, she and her fellow students knew they had to take an active role in directing and building the new initiative. They loved the idea of farm-based learning, but feared the program would be discontinued if it didn’t go over well. They pitched in to support the project.