Happy New Year! And the Winners of the Top 10 New Products Contest Are...

Jan 02, 2025

It’s the calm before the storm here at Farm Equipment headquarters on New Year’s Eve. With our Precision Farming Dealer Summit set for Jan. 6-7 in Louisville, Ky., and the upcoming issue of Farm Equipment going to print just 2 weeks after that, January is always the most action-packed month of the year for us.

February is a close second with the National Farm Machinery Show and the World Ag Expo taking place at the same time on the week of Feb. 10 (apologies to my wife Alex, looks like I’ll be a little late for Valentine’s Day dinner). 2025 will start with a bang, and I can’t wait to check out some of the new technology on display at these shows, including the following winners of the World Ag Expo’s Top 10 New Products contest.

3 in 1 Orchard Brush Rake-Shredder-Blower by HCL Machine Works

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Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.