Avia Eek's Blog (4)

FAA Seeks $289,215 Penalty Against Washington Drone Operator Over Fertilizer Flights

A Washington drone company faces a proposed $289,215 FAA penalty after regulators alleged it conducted unauthorized fertilizer application flights without the required agricultural aircraft certification.

This is Agriculture: CEO and Co-Founder

Dr. Kinneret Shefer is the CEO and co-founder of GeneNeer, a Canadian-Israeli agtech company developing next-generation gene editing technologies for crop improvement. The headquarters launched in Manitoba in early 2026. Shefer has a background in molecular biotechnology and non-coding RNA biology, and earned a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before being awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at the RNA Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Motivated by the opportunity to transform scientific discoveries into solutions that create real-world impact, Shefer has led the development of several patented technologies, and has secured millions of dollars through investments, grants and strategic partnerships. In this month’s This is Agriculture feature, Shefer shares how she came to agriculture through her background in science, why GeneNeer decided to headquarter its company in Manitoba, and where she believes the future of agriculture i

AIVA Network Demo Day connects agtech innovators at EMILI’s Innovation Farms

EMILI welcomed close to 70 attendees to Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert for the first in a series of AIVA Network Demo Days that will take place across Canada in 2026. The event provided farmers, investors, and others in the ecosystem an opportunity to connect with agtech innovators while learning how the Agriculture, Innovation, Validation, and Adoption (AIVA) Network tests and validates new agtech at validation hubs such as EMILI’s Innovation Farms. EMILI is proud to be a founder of AIVA, alongside Farm Credit Canada (FCC) and the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN). The event was hosted by the AIVA Network, which connects farmers, innovators, and validation hubs to bring proven agtech solutions to market and derisk technology adoption. EMILI was thrilled to welcome Manitoba’s Minister of Innovation and New Technology, Mike Moroz, to share remarks on the impact of work taking place to drive agriculture innovation in Manitoba. Attendees also heard from John Cassidy, Mana

Keep an eye out for ticks this grazing season

External parasites, also known as ectoparasites, live on and feed off their host animal and can cause an animal stress, production losses, irritation and injury. Common external parasites that affect beef cattle in Canada include lice, ticks and flies. Different species of parasites can cause livestock problems during different seasons. Understanding external parasites and monitoring their activity will help producers implement effective management and control strategies that mitigate the impact of external parasites on animal health, welfare, productivity and profitability. Parasites, both internal and external, can cause production losses and discomfort to livestock, and are an economic and welfare concern. External parasites can lead to stress, reduced weight gain, decreased milk production and other production losses, irritation and injury in their host animal. Parasites can also alter grazing and feeding behaviour in beef cattle. Some parasites transmit cattle diseases, such as

Lygus bugs management in canola

Lygus bugs management in canola begins with sweep netting at late flowering and pod stages. Count adults and late instars. The standard threshold is 20-30 per 10 sweeps. The most vulnerable crop stage for lygus feeding is after flowering and when seeds are enlarging on lower pods. Scouting Scout lygus at late flowering and podding stages using a standard insect sweep net of 38 cm (15?) diameter. Take ten 180° sweeps, and aim to sweep the flowers and pods while moving forward. In thick crops, take a couple of steps and stand while sweeping vigorously. If you are not seeing a few pods in the net, sweep harder. Count the number of big lygus in the net. Sweep net technique. Count adults and late-instar nymphs Nymphs are young lygus, and only the larger nymphs do enough damage to be included in sweep net counts. (See the images below.) A key feature is the black dots on the back. Count nymphs with developing wingpads or dark shoulder blades. Don’t count those nymphs without developing