What’s needed to increase on-farm adoption of innovation?

There is no shortage of innovation – and innovative ideas – in the agriculture sector. In recent years, there’s been rapid growth globally in the number of tech accelerators, innovation challenges and pitch competitions focused on farming and its supply chain. 

Bioenterprise is building a name for itself as Canada’s food and agri-tech engine as the formerly Ontario-focused agri-food accelerator continues to expand a national innovation network. 

SVG Thrive Ventures in California’s Silicon Valley is launching its first Thrive Canada Accelerator Program. The federal government also supports agri-food innovation, funding the new Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network and the Canadian Food Innovation Network.

Why it matters: Innovation is seen by many countries, including Canada, as essential to solving global food, sustainability and climate change problems.

How farmers feel about ag tech and what’s needed to encourage broader adoption of new technologies was the subject of a farmer panel at the 2021 European Animal AgTech Innovation Summit on Oct. 19. 

It comes down to simplicity, performance, affordability and security, they concluded. 

David Christensen farms in the United Kingdom, producing dairy and beef in Oxfordshire. When it comes to ag tech, he’s excited about its potential to address challenges with farm labour, public perception and changing weather patterns. But technology must deliver, he believes. 

“It must be robust and simple; I haven’t got a lot of time and I don’t want to expend a lot of mental energy on it. Don’t make me think about how to use it; it just has to work,” he said. 

“And backup is key so that someone is there who can solve a problem quickly and easily when I have one.” 

Gathering data for the sake of gathering data is not useful, he added. To resonate with farmers, innovation and data must make a business more efficient and make life easier on the farm.

For broiler producer Jonty Hay of Herefordshire, the biggest key to tech adoption is economics. Staying profitable in the face of unpredictability is paramount, and innovation must yield a return on the investment or else he’s not interested. 

“It’s about ROI. There must be benefit for the birds, the staff, the overall business and the environment, too. We weigh all that out, but predominantly, it’s ROI on capital,” he said. “We can’t do it if it won’t break even.” 

Kerli Ats is a beef farmer in Estonia and serves as CEO of the Estonian Farmers’ Federation. Animals with high welfare standards are a priority on her farm, so she uses various digital tools to monitor herd health and performance. According to Ats, farmers are concerned about the affordability of digital technologies. 

“Some of the biggest obstacles are the costs of new digital systems. As a young beef farmer, I generally can’t afford a lot of these types of solutions,” she said. 

Ats is a believer in the value of gathering digital data on farms but is also adamant that this data must be kept secure to protect farmers. It’s a view shared by Hay and Christensen, who worry about information being misconstrued or taken out of context and used against farmers. 

“People can mine the data and beat you up for something that you tried to do the best with. We have to remember these are living animals that get diseases,” Hay said. “There’s always a slight concern that full transparency gives you bad press.” 

“The security bit is important. I don’t want information used against me by activists or from a sales perspective, but overall, I’m excited by the opportunity this provides,” Christensen added. 

“Anything that can help us as farmers convert more sunlight into crops and through livestock into food should be taken up with enthusiasm.”