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Rocky Mountain Equipment launches fifth year of rural community grant program

The 2025 edition of the RME Right by You Ag Society Grant community investment initiative is accepting applications.

The Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME) program supports four agricultural societies across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Garrett Ganden, President and CEO of RME said a $10,000 grant goes to each project

“We take pride in being embedded in rural communities in Western Canada,” Ganden said. “This program allows us to further support the communities in which many of our employees and customers live, work and play.”

The grant is open to agricultural societies working on projects that enhance the lives of the residents of their communities.

Last year’s grant recipients include the Forestburg Ag Society in Northern Alberta, which received a credit towards a Case IH Farmall tractor to groom its indoor riding arena used for barrel racing and rodeo practice.

The Stavely & District Ag Society in southern Alberta purchased a brand-new Ferris ISX800-60C Zero Turn Mower to help maintain the grounds of the arena where they host three big rodeo events

The Golburn Ag Society in Sylvania, Sask., used their grant to repair and upgrade the fairgrounds and local community hall that is home to the Golburn Fair—an annual event held for more than 80 years.

The Brokenhead Agricultural Society in Beausejour, Man. bought a new storage shed to hold equipment and supplies for their major events: an annual agricultural festival and a two-day ag conference

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

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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.