Ontario producer highlights his family’s transition to new tech at Precision Agriculture Conference

Jan 09, 2018

Joe VanQuaethem farms about 10,000 acres near Tillsonburg

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

An Ontario producer will share his journey with precision agriculture at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference later in the month.

Joe VanQuaethem farms 10,000 acres of corn, soybeans and processing vegetables near Tillsonburg, Ont. with his brother and his father, Brian. The farm has completely immersed itself in precision ag practices, but the transition proved to be a challenging conversation amongst the family.

“I’m the one that pushed the technology side of things because I could see how it would organize our 10,000 acres into something that was more precise and clean,” Joe told Farms.com today. “My dad isn’t really a technology guy. Some older farmers have a tough time letting go ... You have to prove to them that technology is going to work.

“We’re entering a transition period where farm dads may not want to use technology but their kids do and you butt heads along the way.”

VanQuaethem’s presentation will also focus on his precision agriculture equipment and how he uses it to better manage his land.

And while high-speed planters and other equipment help him work more efficiently, the biggest challenge facing precision ag is translating the data into revised agronomic practices, he says.

“The paths between equipment and agronomists is crossing,” he said. “Your equipment is only as good as how you use it. And you can make a bunch of maps but if you’re not putting down the right fertilizer rates on the right soil types, you won’t be successful.”

VanQuaethem is one of many great speakers scheduled to appear at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference.

The event takes place Jan. 30 and 31 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London, Ont.

Top photo: Joe VanQuaethem

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.