Behind the Lines - October 2014

Monday, October 6, 2014

With only a handful of agronomists in Ontario using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which is a more polite and preferred term for drones, it's fair to say that their time hasn't arrived yet, but it is surely on its way.

Senior staff editor Don Stoneman began researching this story last spring by talking to one agronomist and UAV distributor, then followed contacts one by one to get a picture of who is using these devices in the province. Not everyone returned calls, but he got a picture of the possibilities, and the limits, for use of these devices in precision agriculture. The drone that may spot tile drain runs for a farmer may now have the potential to detect plant unhealthiness and pesticides in a few years as the technology in the cameras that they carry improves.

In eastern Ontario, where the technology's use is truly embryonic, Trevor Crowe, a farm boy who moved away from the farm, found that his expertise with high technology is drawing him back and he has developed his own system. At the end of August, after our story was written, Crowe wrote, in a text message: "Today we received our unspecified location SFOC," or Special Flight Operations Certificate, from Transport Canada. "This allows us to fly anywhere in Ontario without applying for each location" for 12 months. "It opens a lot of doors for us," he adds. The story on the use of UAVs and other precision agriculture tools starts on page 12.

Global Fruit promised investors returns of 15-30 per cent from growing apples. The Conference Board of Canada describes Hans Soer, Global Fruit's CEO, as one of the most innovative and successful entrepreneurs in Canada. What could possibly go wrong? Mary Baxter has worked tirelessly over a period of many months, sorting through court files and contacting participants. Her feature story, which begins on page 28, is a cautionary tale. It's largely about apples and newcomers to Canada, but the lessons learned are universal.

Better Farming is publishing its annual environment section this month and, along with it, a list of sewage spills and bypasses on our website. This is the 15th edition and times have changed. When this list was first compiled, animal agriculture was under urban attack following the tainted water tragedy in Walkerton in 2000. Now, with phosphorus blooms growing again in Lake Erie, phosphorus from fertilizer and large livestock operations is being blamed, and cropping is also under scrutiny. BF

ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN