When it comes to using technology to get the most out of agriculture, Ontario farmers are on the cutting edge.
OFA General Manager Cathy Lennon had the opportunity to speak with fellow panellists at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Smart Growth Symposium about how smart agriculture is revolutionizing how farmers grow, manage and sustain food systems.
Great examples were shared from all sectors, like horticulture (auto transplanters and harvesters) grain (GIS, GPS, smart sprayers) and livestock (robotic milking, rapid and proactive detection of animal disease, automatic feeding, manure removal and managing heat with misting in barns).
Other topics of discussion included the importance of plant breeding and advancing livestock genetics to create resilience to climate change, what can hold up innovation uptake or adoption, and how Ontario is home to world class research institutions.
This is in line with trends in the province, as it was reported in 2020 that 54.1% of Ontario farms reported using at least one farm technology (from auto-steer to soil testing and GIS mapping), slightly above the national average of 50.4%.
This embrace of the future directly translates to profits, as farms that report using technology show better expense-to-revenue ratios than those that don’t – 81.5¢ vs 88.1¢ per dollar at the national level.