EMILI is proud to announce the grand opening of its new 8,500 square foot Innovation Farms Centre on Innovation Farms, 20 minutes north west of Winnipeg.

The new space increases opportunities for EMILI and its partners to analyze farm data, demonstrate and test technology solutions, and host meetings and educational events year-round.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew joined EMILI in celebrating the opening, announcing that the Manitoba government will invest $2,025,000 over five years to support the work taking place on Innovation Farms to increase productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector.

This funding is provided under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a $3.5 billion investment by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sectors.

“Manitoba farmers and producers are a critical part of our province’s economy, and our government is supporting them to feed Manitobans and feed the world,” said Kinew. “EMILI’s work to help drive innovation in Manitoba agriculture is going to help producers lower costs, increase yields and improve sustainability. This is a win for our province’s economy and the environment.”

“Digital technology is transforming agriculture and food production, and we want to support Manitoba producers to innovate, adopt new technologies, and grow their businesses,” said Ron Kostyshyn, Minister of Agriculture. “EMILI will play a key role in helping Manitoba agriculture be on the cutting edge, grow the sector, and create more good jobs.”

“This funding increases our ability to provide farmers, industry, students, and researchers with exposure and access to cutting edge equipment and emerging technologies in a commercial setting, which will drive sustainability, and increase productivity,” said EMILI Managing Director Jacqueline Keena.

Leanne Koroscil and Jacqueline Keena welcome Premier Wab Kinew to Innovation Farms (Photo credit: David Lipnowski).

The 8,500 square foot space includes a large workshop, meeting rooms, offices, and a control centre where data from over 50 sensors placed across Innovation Farms can be displayed on interactive screens allowing EMILI collaborators, including startups and scaleups, researchers, students, producers and agtech developers to analyze on-farm data and make decisions in real-time. 

“EMILI is grateful to the Canadian and Manitoba governments for their investment in Innovation Farms and their vision for growing Manitoba’s agtech industry because we know that technological advancement leads to new and expanded businesses, new well-paying jobs, and the preservation of existing jobs,” said EMILI Managing Director Jacqueline Keena. 

Innovation Farms Powered by AgExpert launched in 2022 to enable farmer-centric innovation, advance sustainable technologies and techniques, and increase digital agriculture skills and knowledge. The space is unique in Canada in that it is located on the site of Rutherford Farms, a fully operational, fourth-generation commercial grain and oilseed farm. With access to over 5,500 acres and more than a decade of historical farm data, EMILI is able to share a wealth of resources and information with collaborators to increase adoption of digital tools and bring innovative solutions from pre-commercial into the market.

“The opening of Innovation Farms Centre and the investment that the Manitoba government and others have made in our work increases our capacity to create localized solutions guided by innovative and sustainable technologies,” said Innovation Farms Manager Leanne Koroscil. 

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