Digital agriculture innovation on a full-scale farm
Innovation Farms Powered by AgExpert is located on Rutherford Farms, a 5,500-acre full-scale commercial seed farm that provides industry and academics access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices. Rutherford Farms is a multi-generational Manitoba farm with a long history producing, processing, and selling cereal grains, soybeans, canola, and – more recently – hybrid seed corn. Multiple years of historical data and on-farm trials provide a valuable benchmark for future trials and demonstrations, making it an ideal space to foster innovation.
Creating space for collaboration and innovation in a real-world setting allows us to develop viable solutions to the diverse agronomic and technological challenges and opportunities farmers face. As we place sensors and conduct testing across 5,500 acres (including 100-acres set aside to test and validate new hard and software technologies) Innovation Farms will provide previously unavailable, and extremely valuable, insights on soil science, carbon benchmarking, weather data, and more.
Empowering people to succeed and advancing technology on a 5,500 acre fully-sensored seed farm
Economic resilience
Collaborating with industry and academia to spur innovation leads to technological advancement, new and expanded businesses, new well-paying jobs and the preservation of existing jobs. Empowering people to succeed in the digital agriculture industry and equipping them with the skills and tools to advance the agri-food industry has widespread benefits across the prairies.
Valuable insights
We use AgExpert Field and Accounting software to provide valuable insights as part of our testing, research, and technology development. With customers in every province, and all sectors in Canadian agriculture and food production, AgExpert simplifies the entire process of record keeping from field to finance - giving farmers the information they need to make the best business decisions.
Diverse connections
Our close connection to producers and industry experts puts us in a unique position to support innovative research and entrepreneurship centred around the day-to-day operations of a commercial farm.
Skills and knowledge
As agriculture continues to adopt innovative technologies, people with diverse skills and experiences are needed to access the full potential of these tools. STEM programs, career panels, and work-integrated learning opportunities provide learners from diverse backgrounds with education, training, and work experience to meet the changing needs across the digital agriculture ecosystem.
Read about innovation on the farm
EMILI has been conducting research on Rutherford Farms since 2019. Working closely with University of Winnipeg researchers to develop innovative technologies such as a crop identification algorithm used to identify different varieties of plants. This algorithm was developed from the robust database of millions of labelled images of prairie crops and weeds imaged on Rutherford Farms. Launching Innovation Farms Powered by Ag Expert in Spring 2022 allows us to expand our capacity to support the adoption of new technologies to advance digital agriculture and grow the Canadian economy.
Planting Pixels
Telling innovative farm stories
Innovation Farms
Federal and industry funding
EMILI tours Innovation Farms
Innovative farm partnership
Emergence initiative
Ready, Set Grow Podcast
Collaborate with us
The continued success of Canadian agriculture relies on its ability to adopt new technology, attract a skilled and diverse labour force, and embrace sustainability. Working together, we can increase the integration of intelligent technologies, empower people with digital skills, support start-ups to grow in the prairies, and accelerate Canada's growth as a leader in digital agriculture. Email info@emilicanada.com to learn about ongoing projects and partnership opportunities.
