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Harvest progress reaches one-third mark in Manitoba

Manitoba Agriculture says harvest progress sits at 32% complete across the province, which is a big jump over the past seven days.

This puts harvest completion approximately 10 harvesting days behind the 5-year average of 65% completed by this time.

Cereal Specialist Anne Kirk says as we get later into September, frost is becoming more of a concern.

"People are concerned with frost, which is one of the reasons why people are trying to get their crops off as soon as possible. We've seen some cooler overnights...frost is definitely a concern, more so with the later planted crops like corn and soybeans. Hopefully the weather dries up a bit and then farmers are able to get a good jump on more combining."

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker


Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.