Better Farming – September 2016

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6 Farm News First > Better Farming September 2016
SHORTTAKES
Forty dairy cows in Holland will be in for the experience
of a lifetime when they are transferred to a two-storey
floating farm.
According to The Guardian, Beladon, a company that
specializes in floating structures and is behind the idea,
says the cows will live on a 1,200 square metre floating
platform in Rotterdam harbour. The animals will pro-
duce up to 1,000 litres of milk daily that will be pasteur-
ized and made into yogurt on the floor below.
A filtration facility on the ground floor of the farm
will purify the water from the cows’ urine to grow red
clover, alfalfa and grass under artificial light.
Peter van Wingerden, Beladon’s director, told Fast
Company’s Co.Exist section the larger picture is to create
cities that are “completely self-sufficient on essential
elements like clean water, energy, food and waste.”
Robots will refill
food stations, a
machine will clean up
manure, and the cows
will have access to an
on-land pasture.
Beladon anticipates
the US$2.7 million
project will be com-
pleted in December
2016 and has sched-
uled the grand opening
for January 2017. BF
Three hundred communities and 3.5
million people in southwestern
Ontario could benefit from a new
high-speed internet project.
The SWIFT (Southwestern
Integrated Fibre Technology) initia-
tive will expand fibre optic coverage
throughout 14 counties including
Essex, Perth, Dufferin and Simcoe.
Construction on the network is
scheduled to begin by the end of 2016
or early 2017.
SWIFT is a long-running project
of the Western Ontario Wardens’
Caucus and its partners. The organi-
zation serves 15 upper and single-tier
municipalities that occupy the region
between Lake Huron and Georgian
Bay in the north and Lake Erie in the
south.
“Farmers need broadband access to
connect with their supply chain and
marketplaces,” the SWIFT website
announces as one of the many reasons
why establishing reliable Internet
connectivity is so important for the
region. “(They need) to stay connect-
ed to embedded sensors for monitor-
ing and control of soil conditions,
livestock locations, equipment
operation and maintenance.”
Educators with a specialization in
agriculture are also set to benefit from
the high-speed coverage.
“Our work at (University of
Guelph ) in areas such as precision
agriculture and knowledge mobiliza-
tion for agri-food innovation are
entirely linked to the underlying
broadband infrastructure that makes
the uptake of new digital technologies
possible,” Helen Hambly of the
Ontario Agricultural College and
member of the SWIFT advisory
committee said in a university press
release on July 26.
Several U.S. media outlets report the
state of Vermont recently joined
Connecticut and Maine in passing a
GMO labelling law. As of July 1, any
processed foods sold within Vermont
which contain genetically modified
ingredients must say so on the packaging. Many other
states have also either proposed or passed similar legisla-
tion, and the push to require such labelling could impact
the continent’s food industry.
The Vermont law contains provisions to fine non-
compliant companies up to US$1,000 per day for each
item that isn’t properly labelled.
According to Capital Press, Grocery Manufacturers
Association representatives said if a similar GMO bill
passed in California, it could cost farmers $1.2 billion a
year and increase a family’s grocery bill by $400 annually.
In a 2013 white paper, the Washington State Academy of
Sciences asserted seed producers, grain elevators, proces-
sors and others within the industry may need to charge
more for their services to offset possible costs.
U.S. President Barack Obama has since signed a
national law requiring GMO ingredients to be labelled.
The law requires items containing GMOs to have a "text,
symbol or electronic digital link" that lets customers
know a product is made with genetically modified
ingredients. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will
have two years to finalize the law. BF
Dairy farm floats on water GMO labelling becomes
reality in the U.S.
Taking swift action on rural Internet needs
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The SWIFT project is estimated to
cost between $240 million and $281
million. The governments of Canada
and Ontario each invested $90
million into the project. SWIFT’s
website says $60 million will come
from Internet Service Providers and
an additional $20 million will come
from municipalities and other
supporters. BF
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