Innovators recognized ahead of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

The Innovation in Agriculture Awards recognized recent innovations in Canadian agriculture equipment and technology Monday evening, before the kickoff of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2024 in Woodstock.

The evening reception covered five categories: agronomics, livestock, equipment, environmental sustainability and business solutions. A judging panel chose the finalists, and participants were instructed to deliver a short three-minute presentation to attendees. Following the presentations, attendees voted for their top choice for each category.

Why it matters: New technology helps create efficiencies or greater value on farms, so recognizing them can help farmers make decisions on which to adopt.

The evening began with opening remarks from co-hosts Rob O’Connor, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show director and Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada (AMC) President Donna Boyd, followed by speeches from Senator Rob Black and Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness Rob Flack.

The first category was agronomics. Thunderstruck Ag Equipment took home the prize for their TNT cover plates, a system that alters the delivery point of grain to provide a balanced load across sieves on combines. This can prevent overloading and result in better grain separation due to the larger sieving area. TNT cover plates are compatible with John Deere concaves. The runner up in the agronomic category was Taurus Agricultural Marketing’s Trace Complete soil analysis genomic testing.

Next, the winner, and only nominee, in the business solutions category was CATTLEytics’s Moo to Do added staff scheduling module. The application, which can be accessed via web browser or mobile app, can set and describe on-farm tasks, including urgency, category and staff assignment.

Dr. Shari Van De Pol likened the system to ordering groceries online at the start of the week, saying it can be hard to predict what famers will need in nine months. She said CATTLEytics aims to help producers to “plan with confidence.”

Lemken took the environmental sustainability award for its Solitair DT Seedbed Prepping Seeder. The European-type seeder modified for Canadian use means Canadians can till and seed a field on one pass, reducing emissions. LaSalle Agri AgroBoost premium dry fertilizer was the runner up.

In the livestock category, BioFerScience won for its ProFlora Cattle Energy Balance Capsule The capsule has eased the process of medicating cattle by using an encapsulated powdered form of propylene glycol, rather than the typical liquid. Runner up was Gallagher Animal Management’s Auto-Weigher system, developed in Ontario.

Finally, in the equipment category, AGI and Duke Distribution competed with their Grain Dryer Pre-Cleaner System and Altoz Switch innovations.

Though the voting was close, the winner was Duke Distribution with 52 per cent of the vote. The Altoz Switch, a tracked, stand-on machine is finding uses in poultry operations, vineyards and where quick turn property management is needed.

Each of the winning companies is put forward for the Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show Farmers’ Choice Award with voting through Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show website.

For more information, and to vote for the Farmers’ Choice Award, visit: https://www.outdoorfarmshow.com/innovations-program/