Precision ag calls for internet improvements on Ontario farms: OFA

Feb 02, 2016

Third annual Precision Ag Conference kicks off

By Joe Dales, Vice-President, Farms.com

As the third annual Precision Agriculture Conference opened today, Peter Sykanda was busy assessing some of the newest advances in farm technology.

And how it all relates to broadband.

As the farm policy researcher with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture explained, “our interest in precision agriculture is tied to our interest in broadband internet service across rural Ontario.”

Sykanda was attending the conference along with OFA president Don McCabe.

Peter Sykanda

He said the OFA was very aware of the increasing needs of farm businesses across the province, “and what we want to achieve is the fastest, least-expensive, and most-reliable broadband service available, for all our members.

“The new technologies coming on line are only going to increase the need for fastest data transfer.”

So where is the OFA focusing its efforts on behalf of the commercial farmers of Ontario? Government or private industry?

“It’s an interesting partnership between public and private investment, and there are a number of models that can work.

“But looking around at all these new technologies, and the rapid advances in precision agriculture, we are working hard on broadband, and we are confident that we will get there.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.