Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

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

Views: 235

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

Ukraine-Russian Peace Deal Impact on Grain, Fertilizer and Energy Markets

A peace framework that reduces geo-political tensions in the Black Sea region would likely exert downward pressure on crude oil prices.

Ontario government invests $1.5 million in Morrisburg's Alinova Canada Inc. plant

Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli was in Morrisburg on Tuesday to announce a $1.5 million investment in Canada’s first non-GMO soy milk powder processing plant. Alinova Canada Inc. is a joint venture between Japan’s second largest soy milk producer, Marusan Ai, and Ontario-based David J Hendrick International Inc. (DJHII) valued at $23.9 million. The facility in Morrisburg, located at the former Homestead Organics site, is still being retrofitted and is expected to open early in 2026. Once it is fully operational, the plant will process food-grade soybeans from Eastern Ontario farms into powder for use in soy-based products. The operation is expecting to ramp up to eventually produce over 1,200 metric tonnes of soy milk powder per year. Putting South Dundas on the map for agri-food processing and innovation, DJHII founder Hendrick said he expects to eventually hire 15 staffers for the plant and has already started onboarding, sharing kind w

Ontario Secures $24-Million Agri-Food Investment with New Soymilk Powder Plant in Morrisburg

Ontario’s agri-food sector is set for a significant boost as Alinova Canada Inc. invests nearly $24 million to build the country’s first non-GMO soymilk powder processing plant, a project expected to create 15 jobs and strengthen the province’s export capacity. The provincial government announced the investment Monday, positioning it as a strategic move that will expand domestic processing capacity and reinforce Ontario’s reputation as a global supplier of soy-based ingredients. “Alinova Canada’s investment is a vote of confidence in our province’s manufacturing capabilities and in our world-class workers,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “With their new Morrisburg facility, Alinova is onshoring key processing capacity from Japan for Ontario’s agri-food supply chain, creating good-paying jobs, and driving long-term economic growth in Eastern Ontario.” Alinova is a joint venture between Japan’s second-largest soymilk producer, Marusan Ai, an

Advancing Sustainability Solutions Through Collection Audits

One of our duties and responsibilities as Recycling Ambassadors for Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC) was to travel around the province and spread the word about proper drop off for oil, antifreeze & diesel exhaust fluid containers. We have learned that a farm can produce dozens of these containers every year, as well as hundreds of other plastic containers, like pesticide and fertilizer jugs. We saw this first-hand when we joined Cleanfarms for two projects in June 2025: a Rinse Rate Study and a Seed, Pesticide & Inoculant (SPI) Bag Audit. We had the opportunity to meet Cleanfarms Program Advisors, Tammy Shields and Serena Klippenstein in Naicam, SK, at Curtis Ltd. We split into two teams for efficiency and got to work. One team examined the SPI bags, and the other examined the rinse rate for chemical jugs. In the SPI bag audit, we sorted, counted, and weighed different materials – multi-layered paper bags, low density polyethylene (LDPE) bags, and polypropylene (PP) totes.

Interesting Facts About Our Agriculture Industry

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is home to over 300 different farms. Farm Cash Receipts were $163.9 million in 2023, up 9.8% from 2022. The largest crop commodity is Greenhouse and Nursery, accounting for 6.1 per cent of total Farm Cash Receipts. Value of vegetable production remained unchanged at $7.0 million; the top two vegetable crops in 2023 were turnips and potatoes. The top five crops in 2023 accounted for 71 per cent of all vegetable sales; they are as follows: potato, turnip, carrot, cabbage and pumpkin. Farm Cash Receipts for fruit production rose 13.0 per cent in 2023 to $1.9 million; with strawberries being the highest valued crop at $0.9 million. In terms of berries, strawberries are the largest in terms of value, cranberries are largest by volume produced and blueberries are the largest by area of production. The province has ten commercial apiculture (beekeeping) operations producing a variety of honey and beeswax products plus providing pollination services fo

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service