Grounding solutions in real-world conditions accelerates technology development and strengthens sectoral competitiveness.
Each year, EMILI serves as a trusted bridge between innovation and on-farm application. In 2026, this included collaborations with 22 innovators on more than 34 projects across 15,000+ acres at its Innovation Farms sites in Grosse Isle and MacGregor,
Since 2024, EMILI has supported agtech entrepreneurs as they’ve brought eight brand new technologies to market, and iterated many more. This has resulted in more than $7 million in annual business sales growth.
Over the last two years, EMILI’s connections to agtech-related VC funds, and the support we provide innovators has resulted in over $27 million in private sector investment for agtech entrepreneurs.
The opportunity to forge and strengthen connections with investors and innovators has been instrumental in helping the entrepreneurs we work with scale their business.
“We work with a number of entrepreneurs and innovators to either help them bring pre-commercial technologies to the market, or work with them to advance their commercial technologies and actually practice it on a real farm so we can provide feedback and work with them to solve real problems for farmers,” said EMILI Innovation Farms Manager Leanne Koroscil.
From concept to AI-powered grain market analyst
In 2022, EMILI began supporting GrainFox in the creation of educational tools to help customers use their grain marketing technology more effectively. By 2025, the Manitoba company had developed Sinoa, an AI agent to support grain market analysis that EMILI is currently validating at its Innovation Farms Grosse Isle site.
Sinoa by GrainFox is a tool that provides insight into grain markets (Photo credit: EMILI).
Demonstrating technologies potential to improve harvest logistics
Another great example is Elmer’s Manufacturing. The Manitoba manufacturer has worked with EMILI over several seasons to validate three technologies and their components. For example, after integrating a prototype of the HIVE MotherBin portable grain storage solution into Innovation Farms’ 2025 harvest, EMILI was able to provide Elmer’s Manufacturing with data demonstrating the product’s return on investment for farmers and its potential to streamline operations and improve harvest logistics.
By providing innovators with access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices along with unbiased feedback on how their innovation works on a full-scale farm, EMILI is able to help proven technologies move from an idea to a commercially scalable product.
From demonstrations to integration into John Deere’s North American dealer network
After validating on EMILI’s Innovation Farms from 2023-2025, Manitoba-based BranValt (formerly Bushel Plus) forged a partnership with John Deere, making the BranValt Smart Pan System™ available through John Deere’s North American dealer network, helping more farmers optimize their combines and improve profitability on their farms.
The Bushel Plus SmartPan can be installed quickly on any combine. (Photo credit: EMILI)
From prototype to commercially available in one season
When BranValt brought a prototype of their split frame MAD concave to EMILI’s Innovation Farms in 2025, they were looking for real-world conditions to validate its ability to make crop transitions faster and easier. After installing the split frame concave on a John Deere X9 combine, and seeing it operate in various crop types, they were able to make it commercially available in 2026.
“The chance to use EMILI’s facilities to test this technology and provide us with performance metrics has been instrumental,” said BranValt Director of Research and Development Connor Entz.
“It is fantastic to see the X9 Split Frame MAD Concave go from a prototype to a commercialized solution thanks to the data and resources we were able to provide,” said EMILI Innovation Farms Manager Leanne Koroscil. “This is a great example of how the work we are doing at EMILI is speeding the development and uptake of innovative tools and technologies that aim to make life easier for farmers.”
From three farms to 180 farms in seven countries
Geco Strategic Weed Management (Geco) is another example. When EMILI began working with Geco in 2023, it was being tested on three farms in Western Canada. Fast-forward three years, it is now commercially available in North America, and being used on over 180 farms in seven countries.
Geco Strategic Weed Management uses AI to predict where weeds will appear in. a field (Photo supplied).
Over four seasons on EMILI’s Innovation Farms, Geco has experimented with different use cases to better understand how the tool can help farmers and agronomists make crop decisions. In 2026, this technology is being evaluated on EMILI’s Innovation Farms and across the AIVA Network’s Validation Hubs, providing a national lens on how the technology works across Canada’s diverse agricultural regions.
“What EMILI does is really important for a Canadian ag company like us, ” said Geco Founder and CEO Greg Stewart. “They are flexible and available. They include us in demo days and introductions to people, and provide experimental data that we would not have been able to get otherwise. It has made such a difference to how we developed as a company.”
Agriculture is a key sector where better tools can improve efficiency, decision-making and competitiveness within a relatively short window. Operating Innovation Farms across two full-scale commercial farms allows EMILI to test and validate agriculture technology, and evaluate its return on investment (ROI) in real-world settings, which is a vital way to bring innovation from pre-commercial to market.
Visit EMILI’s Innovation Farms to learn more about this project and other activities. EMILI hosts field tours and demonstrations on Innovation Farms throughout the season to showcase new agricultural technology, expand innovation opportunities, and increase understanding and adoption of digital tools.