CAAIN provides key funding for autonomous tractor kit

Feb 02, 2024

The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) is highlighting results of the agtech research & innovation projects it is supporting through its 2022 Open Competition and its Beef & Pork Primary Processing Automation & Robotics Program.

Darrell Petras, CAAIN’s CEO says through the program they look for Canadian companies that are developing technology that will provide significant value to Canadian farmers through artificial intelligence.

An Edmonton-based company Mojow Autonomous Solutions has developed an Autonomous Tractor Kit for Enabling Autonomous Farm Implement Operation.

CAAIN is contributing over $682 thousand to the $2.2 million dollar project that will result in the commercialization of truly autonomous equipment.

Mojow’s EYEBOX platform will allow operators to “fire and forget” their sprayers, seeders, and planters.

In other words, once the job has been programmed into the unit, the tractor it controls will drive itself to the field in question, navigating any roads or entrances it encounters along the way, making the necessary passes, and returning to its starting point without any additional human interaction.

Mojow President, Owen Kinch is a grain farmer who worked off-farm to feed his spirit for technological innovation.

He spent seven years in SeedMaster’s R&D department, before becoming the first employee of the company’s autonomous vehicle spinoff, DOT Technology Corp.

Kinch met his friend and eventual Mojow co-founder, Mojtaba (Moji) Hedayatpour at DOT.

CAAIN notes that autonomous agtech is widely viewed as a key to reducing the agri-food sector’s reliance on increasingly scarce labour.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.