EMILI and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) recently spoke at Farm Management Canada’s Agriculture Excellence Conference about the importance of increasing on-farm adoption of new technologies and innovation in order to increase productivity growth in Canada’s agriculture sector.
EMILI Managing Director Jacqueline Keena introduced the session with an overview of what EMILI learned this growing season, including a recent poll asking visitors to Innovation Farms powered by Ag Expert for their perspectives on what is needed to increase producer trust in technology and how prepared people are for the AI era.
CAPI Director of Strategic Projects Elise Bigley shared insights into what CAPI is hearing from stakeholders while collaborating with EMILI to publish The Future is Digital, a research report examining how public policy can support the adoption of digital agriculture technology in Canada. Bigley also shared learnings from CAPI’s recent report, At a Turning Point, which explores Canada’s agricultural research and development.
According to Bigley, digital agriculture is a critical part of how innovation is generated. “Globally, digital agriculture is becoming a key lever for competitiveness, shaping environmental standards, trade, and market access,” she said. “Digital agriculture is needed for the Canadian ag sector to achieve its full potential.”
EMILI Innovation Farms Manager Leanne Koroscil followed Bigley’s presentation with a conversation about innovative technologies being tested and validated at EMILI’s Innovation Farms, such as how entering data on fuel usage and field practices into AgExpert Field allows EMILI to model greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestered through the growing season to gain a better understanding of the sustainability footprint at Innovation Farms.
“We work with a number of entrepreneurs and innovators to either help them bring pre-commercial technologies to the market, or work with them to advance their commercial technologies and actually practice it on a real farm so we can provide feedback and work with them to make farmers lives much more easier,” said Koroscil
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