AIVA’s 1st season lauded as solid step for ag technology adaptation

Six months after its formation, a network of farmers and tech leaders across the Prairies that tests early-stage agricultural technology and tools on its farms is earning praise from stakeholders.

Agriculture Innovation, Validation and Adoption Network (AIVA) was launched in May by a partnership that includes federal Crown corporation Farm Credit Canada, Manitoba-based non-profit Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative (EMILI), and the Indianapolis-based Wabash Heartland Innovation Network.

AIVA undertook 10 validation projects this past growing season across the four farms in its network. The projects paired developers of ag tools with farmers, with the goals of piloting market-ready projects and offering farmers a low-risk way to expand their technological repertoire.

Additionally, AIVA added approximately 40 farmer members to its network. Located primarily in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, these farmers are interested in trying new technologies on their farms and providing feedback about how they work.

Farmers usually want to keep up with the latest advances in farming technology, said Carl Havixbeck, who has worked in Manitoba’s agricultural sector for more than 30 years and serves as a manager at AIVA.

“There’s new problems every year … and every year there’s new technology entering the ecosystem,” he said. “(Farmers) want to keep in touch with that so that they can have something in their back pocket when that problem arises.”

Havixbeck shared his thoughts during one of the panel discussions at the Agriculture Enlightened conference in Winnipeg on Thursday. Organized by EMILI, it was the seventh such event and drew about 275 attendees.

During the discussion, Havixbeck and fellow panellists shared perspectives on the impact of testing and validating technology in real world conditions.

Holly Johnson, an agronomist at Pitura Seeds, said her employer prioritizes working alongside farmers to test, evaluate and adopt new technology because they see themselves as industry leaders.

“We’re always trying new things, taking risks and proving or disproving concepts on our farm,” Johnson said. “I believe through our work, we influence our customers, our neighbours and our communities with the common goal of being better farmers.”

That investment is driven by an emphasis on continuous improvement and challenging the status quo so farmers can increase their return on investment, she added. “A sustainable farm is a profitable one first.”

For Mark Keating, co-owner of Keating Seed Farms Inc. and Keating Seed Corp. near Russell, keeping an eye on technological developments and testing different tools is important due to the nature of commodity production.

“Farming has always been risky, but in the relatively recent past, to me, it’s shifted more from labour risk and sweat equity risk to flat-out financial risk,” said Keating, who recently completed his 35th harvest. “There’s huge dollars required to grow a crop now, and we need every tool possible to basically maximize our returns or minimize our risk.”

He added AIVA’s work is important because it’s difficult for farmers to perform full-scale trials.

“It takes some expertise that a lot of us just don’t have, never mind the time,” Keating said. “Thanks to AIVA … and others for doing that.”

Projects that were tested this past growing season included Picketa Systems, which analyzes plant tissue’s nutrients while plants are still in-field, and Corteva, which uses drones to apply fungicide.

Havixbeck is optimistic about the network’s future. He said he’ll spend the month before Christmas on the road, connecting with AIVA members and securing as many pilot projects as he can for 2027.

“I’m super excited about what the coming season looks like,” he said.

EMILI launched Agriculture Enlightened as a virtual event in 2020 to raise the profile of key themes and relevant topics in Canada’s ag tech landscape, said Jacqueline Keena, the organization’s chief executive.

She added colleagues were excited to mark EMILI’s 10th anniversary with the launch of AIVA, which expanded the organization’s ability to support farmers and innovators.

“We think what we’re building here in Canada (with AIVA) is unique in the world because of the scale of the country and the diversity of agriculture that exists across Canada,” Keena said.

aaron.epp@winnipegfreepress.com