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Wanted: A long-term vision for the future of Canadian agriculture

Glacier FarmMedia – What does Canada’s agriculture and food sector need to do to insulate itself from major disruptions?

According to the latest Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) report “A Toolbox for Managing Crises,” everyone linked to ag needs to stop working alone to extinguish fires and instead adopt a more dynamic approach to problem solving.

In practice, the report’s authors say, that means developing a much wider understanding of the issues facing each sector and how they intersect and then implementing long-term strategies to account for risks.

This approach is lacking. The authors argue that, by focusing on a single business or sector at a time, Canada’s agriculture and food system remains more vulnerable to disruption.

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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.