EMILI is using Verge Ag’s Launch Pad software to automate route planning on Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert during the 2026 season.
In May 2026, Innovation Farms Associate Sarah Wilcott worked with Verge Ag to generate tillage plans specific to the farm’s field boundaries, elevation, and equipment. The plan was then synced to a John Deere 590 tractor before tilling began.
Verge Ag’s Launch Pad is a web-based precision agriculture platform that aims to unlock autonomy on a farmer’s existing equipment.
“The current version uses smart heuristics to estimate how ‘costly’ any maneuver in the field is, along with various meta-heuristic algorithms to optimize the route ordering,” said Verge Ag Product Manager AJ Nolin.
Its core feature is Path Planner, which helps farmers plan out the most efficient route before any equipment enters a field.
The made in Canada technology is designed to be accessible and cost effective. It uses standard GIS shapefiles, costs only $5 to plan seeding for one field, works with all major equipment brands, and requires no installation.
While the technology could one day power fully-autonomous farm equipment, and even robots, Nolin says the market isn’t ready for that. In the meantime, supervised autonomy allows farmers to unlock tools they already have, such as GPS and auto-steer, to standardize routes and increase efficiency in the field.
“Full autonomy is a journey and it’s probably not coming anytime soon,” he said. “But there are things you can do now that will improve your efficiency, minimize overlap, and save you money.”
Verge Ag Launch Pad allows farmers to plan routes with fewer passes, based on specific field conditions such as identifying optimal refill spots for seed and product, so machines travel the shortest practical distance between work areas and refill locations.
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