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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Robot weeder is on the way

Monday, December 3, 2012

It started out as a robot that would cut the grass in urban parks. Somebody thought that spinning blades were a bad idea with kids and dogs on leashes around, and so the idea evolved into an automated lettuce weeder, according to The Economist magazine.

The electric-powered Lettuce 'Bot, brainchild of Stanford University-trained engineers Jorge Heraud and Lee Redden, takes pictures of passing lettuce plants, compares them to a database of more than one million images of lettuce taken from all possible angles and instantly decides if they should live or die. A shot of concentrated fertilizer out the back end kills weeds and the remaining lettuce gets a growth blast as well. A version of the machine, currently under development, aimed at organic lettuce producers, favours those old spinning blades.

The makers promise that the robots will be cost-competitive with hand weeding. BF

Current Issue

December 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Kubota BX23S - Your Farm’s MVP

Thursday, November 27, 2025

The Kubota BX23S stands out as a powerful and efficient compact tractor designed to meet the needs of farmers. As part of Kubota’s trusted BX Series, this model serves as a dedicated tractor loader backhoe, offering superior strength and versatility for a wide range of... Read this article online

Drew Spoelstra acclaimed for third term as OFA president

Thursday, November 27, 2025

Drew Spoelstra of Binbrook will serve a third consecutive one-year term as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). The association represents 38,000 farm families across the province. Spoelstra was acclaimed during OFA’s annual general meeting (held under the theme:... Read this article online

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