Another edition of the Western Canadian Crop Production Show is in the books.
The 41st edition of the show introduced a new feature this year with the 'Innovation Awards'.
New Innovations entered into the program were judged on a variety of criteria from innovation and impact; to quality and scope; value; marketability and environmental sustainability.
First place in the program went to Annelida Soil Solutions out of Nisku, Alberta.
Annelida’s Director of Sales, Jamie Depape says the company uses castings from worms and applies it to agricultural soils in a liquid or granular form.
"What we do is we take waste products from the local grocers, you know, meat, fats, and dairies produce plant waste, things like that. Coffee grounds from local coffee shops, inner city manures, cardboards. so all these waste streams. We actually feed ten different ingredients, a stable diet every single day to our worms. So this is made into an emulsion, somewhat of a manure-like consistency. Fed to the top of the bed, the worms are coming up and eating it and then leaving their excrement, the castings. "
He says they have a 35 to 60-day process from top to bottom where they basically simulate the soil microbiome.
Depape says the goal is to create super food for the soil.
"Essentially utilizing Mother Nature to stimulate it, and follow it up with a good food source, and continue to grow the soil microbiome."
Redekopp Manufacturing’s Seed Control Unit took second place in the New Innovations Award category.
The system uses an impact mill to crush weed seeds as they exit the combine destroying up to 98 per cent of the harvestable weeds in a single pass operation.
The Redekop MAV straw chopper or can be integrated into the combine’s factory straw chopper.
The third-place winner in the New Innovations category was the SWAT CAM, a crop monitoring tool developed by Croptimistic Technology Inc out of Saskatoon.
The cameras are mounted on either side of the spray boom and take images every 60 feet.
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