Are Robot Farmers Going To Take Over? See The Latest Robotic Technology "Prospero and Aquarius" At The CFVTX Event July 12-13, 2012

Farmers ready to rally and support the annual, horticulture trade show.

Simcoe, ON

(June 17, 2012) – Norfolk County, the predominant fruit and vegetable community, is home to the annual fruit & veg trade show – Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change. Farmers from near and far, are eager to rally and support both the show, and the horticulture industry. Not only will they attend, but bring the entire farm family unit, as there is something for everyone engaged in the hort sector.

In addition to the free brunch for farmers on opening day, the 250 exhibitor trade show boasts specialized equipment, a two-day speaker program, the global launch of the ‘robot farmers’, equipment innovation contest, live demos, and a Farm Family XPO. David Chilton, Canadian author of The Wealthy Barber, will speak at 12pm on the Saturday of the show; discussing smart financial planning as it relates to agriculture.

Norfolk County is not the only vibrant horticulture ‘hot bed’. Essex County is home to a massive greenhouse vegetable sector, a world-class leader in food production. The Tech X-Change has been targeting this area and offering complimentary chartered bus rides to and from the show, courtesy of Vanden Bussche Irrigation.

"With Essex County and the greenhouse growers concerned more than ever with environmental impact and water recirculation, these growers are motivated to attend the X-Change with their families, to see such things as irrigation field days and the new greenhouse farmer robot launch" states Jillian McCallum, from Essex County Growers Association. "Our greenhouse operations have significant impact in the horticulture sector; they are serious about technology and educating the next generation, they know they will see it all in one place at the X-Change this July".

R&D Dorout, out of Iowa, are the inventors of the intriguing robot farmers. One designed for row crop "Prospero" and one designed for greenhouse "Aquarius". Aquarius is crafted to aid greenhouse operators with dispensing water, fertilizing and plant harvest. Astonishingly enough, this robot will be ready for pre-order at the X-Change.

Norfolk County asparagus grower, Chris Koteles, says "Canada’s Fruit and Veg Tech X-Change recognizes the need for growers to see specialized hort equipment in operation, and all in one spot for performance comparisons. There are a lot of great farm shows out there, but the reality is, most have very little to offer today’s progressive fruit and veg producer," says Koteles. "The Tech X-Change is a real plus for the Ontario’s hort industry."

If you are an OFA member make sure you check out the new OFA Proud to Farm Building onsite, that will play host to OFA, NFA and various member benefit partners.

This year’s dates are July 12th – 14th 2012, taking place at the hort shows permanent site, 1195 Front Rd in St Williams, ON.

For more information on Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change, please visit www.FruitVeg.ca or call the shows communication manager, Donna Powell at 226-381-0282 Ext. 2. X-Change hours are 10am-6pm Thursday and Friday and 10am – 4pm on Saturday

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

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

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

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service