Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Future of Farming: Robot Farmers? What do you think of this concept video?

What do you think farming technology will capable of in 50 - 100 years?
Joe

Views: 1284

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Replies on Twitter:

mattymetzgerFeb 18, 5:20pm via TweetDeck

@OntAg more robotics yes, but not in that form

Show Conversation
ScoutingFieldsFeb 18, 9:58am via Web

@OntAg Interesting Robot concept. With precision farming technologies,changes are happening at a fast pace. check outbit.ly/p1ygWM

1 retweetsHide conversation
OntAg

OntAg: #ontag Chat Forum: Future of Farming: Robot Farmers? What do you think of this concept video?http://t.co/7MFJig4R

Quite an interesting video. I just recently wrote a blog post about why young farmers love tech and this play along to that. While I don't talk about robots I definitely talk about being more efficient at the farm.

This video is also very thought provoking because many people feel that robots will take over, but not in a good way. Think about i-robot. I wonder how many farmers would jump on something like this if it was affordable. 

What kind of technology do you use on your farms?

Hi Iain,

Welcome to the Ontario Agriculture Community website.

It sounds like you are interested in farming and getting a handle on the technology.

I suggest that you go visit a farm machinery dealership in your area and ask to talk to the Precision Ag Specialist.

They will show you some of the interesting new tools farmers have to be more efficient....autosteer, gps, record keeping...

Take care,

 

Joe

 

Here is a video we did with the Propero inventor this summer.

Thanks Joe, 

That is a great idea. I will have to set up a time to go check out some of the stuff they have out there now.

It is awesome to see what they are doing nowadays. I wonder how many robots like that you would have to have to plant 100 acres. 

Iain

Joe Dales said:

Hi Iain,

Welcome to the Ontario Agriculture Community website.

It sounds like you are interested in farming and getting a handle on the technology.

I suggest that you go visit a farm machinery dealership in your area and ask to talk to the Precision Ag Specialist.

They will show you some of the interesting new tools farmers have to be more efficient....autosteer, gps, record keeping...

Take care,

 

Joe

 

The little Prospero robot is more of a concept by the young inventor....not sure if it makes sense as a corn planter...current tractor and planters are increasing in size and sophistication...pretty efficient and effective at placing the seed.

Here is a video we did this spring with our friend Larry planting corn....he uses gps autosteer to make sure there is no seeding wasted with overlap.

 

 

 

 

My only problem with that type of technology is how do the small farms afford it. That could almost be a whole topic in itself.

Awesome video though.

Technology is here to stay, maybe not with planting robots, but precision Ag is now a way farming.  Truthfully in a lot of cases if you are not using precision Ag solutions you are leaving money somewhere on the table.

Data management to me is the next buzz word in Ag, it is what farmers use to make decisions on Variable Rate Application, inputs and seed population and even water management.  To make the most profitable choices you need the proper accurate data and that’s were precision Ag is going.

Sometimes it is easier for smaller operations to implement changes like precision since the intial investment is not as high as the BTO's farming.

 

What type of initial investment are we talking for a small farm?

Paul Smith said:

Technology is here to stay, maybe not with planting robots, but precision Ag is now a way farming.  Truthfully in a lot of cases if you are not using precision Ag solutions you are leaving money somewhere on the table.

Data management to me is the next buzz word in Ag, it is what farmers use to make decisions on Variable Rate Application, inputs and seed population and even water management.  To make the most profitable choices you need the proper accurate data and that’s were precision Ag is going.

Sometimes it is easier for smaller operations to implement changes like precision since the intial investment is not as high as the BTO's farming.

 

starting at 2000 and the sky is the limit, but hi end systems run around 15K, alot has to do with the dealers knowledge how they can train customers to collect and manage the data to make gains on the farm

And that 2000 could be put on any tractor, or would it have to be on certain types that already have some stuff on them.

Paul Smith said:

starting at 2000 and the sky is the limit, but hi end systems run around 15K, alot has to do with the dealers knowledge how they can train customers to collect and manage the data to make gains on the farm

2000 would be just a display, that could be used for guidance(it tells you where to drive to be efficient) by a means of a light bar and it can be used in any piece of equipment on a farm.  Main uses for these are tillage, spraying and less accurate planting.

Systems that steer for you start around 5K and most applications top out around 14K for most cash crop operations.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Bull Rider TJ Gray Wins PRCA Top Gun Award at 2025 National Finals Rodeo

Oregon bull rider TJ Gray captured the PRCA Top Gun Award at the 2025 Wrangler NFR, winning big and making history.

B.C. mink farmers drop legal challenge of ban, citing costs after four-year fight

Mink farmers in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada are dropping their legal challenge over a pandemic-era ban in the province due to legal fees they say are “far beyond their means.” The British Columbia Mink Producers Association and the Canada Mink Breeders Association had been petitioning for a judicial review of the province’s ban on mink farming and had been challenging the policy decision, which dates back to November 2021. In a statement, the mink farmers say they remain angry at the move by the province, which they describe as driven by “an aggressive anti-fur lobby.” The farmers say they have fought the province unsuccessfully in several separate court attempts while no financial compensation has been offered to operators who had to tear down their farms. The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in August that the farmers’ lawsuits have “no reasonable prospect of success” and dismissed a bid for damages against the province, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and othe

Oilseed crushing and major grain deliveries statistics, November 2025

Oilseed crushing statistics Data on oilseed crushing are now available for November 2025. Deliveries of major grains Deliveries of major grains across Canada rose by 14.2% in November from the same month the previous year, totalling 5.6 million tonnes. Increases in total wheat (+21.0% to 3.4 million tonnes), canola (+11.1% to 1.6 million tonnes), and rye (+11.2% to 11.9 thousand tonnes) contributed to higher deliveries. Major grains include wheat (excluding durum), durum wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed and canola. Focus on Canada and the United States Producer deliveries capture grain that is destined for a primary elevator, feed mill, crushing plant or flour mill. This includes grain elevators that hold grain before it is exported, as well as shipments to US markets that are not licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission. The imposition of tariffs by the United States may have an impact on producer deliveries of major grains in the coming months. In 2024, Canada exported a tot

Parrish & Heimbecker to buy GrainsConnect Canada

Further consolidation of Western Canada’s grain sector is just around the corner. Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H) is purchasing GrainsConnect Canada (GCC), a joint venture currently owned by Australia’s GrainCorp and Japan’s Zen-Noh Grain Corp. GCC was formed by the two international firms in 2015. P&H is getting four high-capacity grain elevators as well as GCC’s 50 per cent stake in Fraser Grain Terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The elevators are in Reford, Sask., Maymont, Sask., Huxley, Alta., and Vegreville, Alta. The 35,000-tonne facilities are each equipped with 134-car rail loops. P&H has a longstanding partnership with GCC through its shared ownership of Fraser Grain Terminal. The port terminal exports up to four million tonnes of cereals, oilseeds, pulses and other commodities per year. It can handle and discharge 120 railcars and has 70,000 tonnes of storage. It can load grain into vessels at a rate of 2,000 tonnes per hour. The purchase is expected to close in early 2026

Farmers face new challenge as group 14-resistant kochia spreads across western Canada

A new study shows that Group 14-resistant kochia has developed and spread rapidly across Western Canada. Group 14 is an important herbicide group for controlling the prolific weed because it already has widespread resistance to glyphosate, a Group 9 product, and has long had resistance to Group 2 chemistries. Back in 2021, the first known case of Group 14-resistant kochia was discovered in West Central Saskatchewan. In 2022, it was discovered in North Dakota. Charles Geddes, a research scientist in weed ecology and cropping systems at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge is a leading expert on herbicide resistant weeds. His team designed genetic tests to identify Group 14 resistance using leaf tissue samples. This increased the speed and efficiency of identification. In a post recently published on Linked-in, Geddes has published a map showing instances of Group14 resistance across all three Prairie provinces. The greatest concentration is in the brown and dark brown so

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service