New companies on display at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference

Jan 31, 2018

Farmers visited with at least three new agribusinesses

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Ontario producers attending the 2018 Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference & Tech Showcase have the chance to reconnect with trusted advisors and develop relationships with potential new members of their farm management team.

At the conference, at least three new agribusinesses were on hand to introduce themselves to farmers, explain their products and how they could be of benefit to growers.

One company introduced a new crop protection delivery system.

Vive Crop Protection has developed a system that’s built into the jug that can control how a crop protection product or fertilizer interacts with key parts of the farm.

“One of the most important things that determines whether a herbicide is effective is whether or not it can penetrate the small waxy layer on the outside of the leaf,” Dr. Darren Anderson, president of Vive Crop Protection, told Farms.com today. “We use little polymer shuttles with active ingredients inside that are the same size of the waxy layers. We can more efficiently control how the chemicals interact with that layer. They also help products mix more effectively with other products in the spray tank.”

Vive’s products should be commercially available to cash croppers beginning in 2020, Anderson said.

Another organization introduced its technology which uses rare earth magnets to help reduce herbicide drift.

Sprayers can be fitted with MagGrow’s magnets, which create an electromagnetic charge in the herbicide. The charge then helps the product stick to the crop, which reduces drift.

“The magnets change the physical property of the droplets,” said Tom McCann, regional sales manager, Canada, for MagGrow. “We’re reducing the number of droplets that are susceptible to drift. And at the same time we can improve the spray coverage, ensuring the crops are receiving the proper amounts of herbicides they need.”

And the third new organization on display at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference uses high-pressure water as a residue management tool.

I-Cubed’s system is powered by a pump and can be pulled with a tractor. The system sprays high-pressure water straight down, cutting through residue and leaving the soil ready for the planter.

“We’re not trying to make better planters, we’re trying to make planters better,” said Jeffrey Martel, applications manager with I-Cubed. “Think about it like you’re taking the coulter disc off and putting a waterjet on.”

The system leaves some water about five inches underneath the soil, which is deep enough that it won’t damage the seed but will be available for roots, Martel said, adding that testing will be conducted to determine if crop protection products can be run through the system for added benefits.

The conference wraps up Wednesday afternoon. Not at the conference but still want to follow along? Use the hashtag #Pag18 on social media to get the latest updates from the show.

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