Over the course of his lifetime, Rob O’Connor has seen agriculture technology improve by leaps and bounds. As the show director for Ag in Motion and Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Rob has a front-row seat to the latest advancements in agriculture technology and equipment, and is living his childhood dream of being both a rancher and a key part of agriculture events. Read on to learn how Rob went from the family farm to directing two of the largest agriculture shows in the country.
Describe your job or product in one sentence.
Ag in Motion and Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show are the two largest agriculture tradeshows in Canada. These venues bring farmers and ag business owners together to network and do business.
Where did you grow up? Was it an agriculture or urban environment?
I grew up in both the provinces of Saskatchewan and Ontario. My mother’s family owned a farm in Ontario. They also owned a steel fabricating company in Toronto. My father’s family owned a farm in Saskatchewan. My family has raised purebred Hereford cattle for three generations. My daughters are the fourth generation.
What was your dream job when you were a kid?
My dream careers were to be a rancher, and to be involved in agriculture events. These are the two things I do today. The other career I would love to be involved in one day, perhaps after I retire, is to be involved in Major League Baseball.
What was your first job in the agriculture or agri-food sector?
My first job outside the family farm was to work at a dairy farm. Shortly thereafter, I went to work for Purina in Ontario as a feed salesman.
What brought you to your current role?
After working for Purina for three years, I moved to Saskatchewan. Shortly thereafter, I started a job at Regina Exhibition Association as the agriculture coordinator. I helped coordinate the many agriculture events that were held at that facility ranging from the Western Canada’s Farm Progress Show and rodeos, to barrel racing events, livestock shows and more. I was promoted to show manager in 2003 and stayed at that job for 10 years. I was recruited to become the general manager of the Manitoba Provincial Exhibition, but was also recruited to start a new outdoor farm show in Western Canada by the company now known as Glacier FarmMedia. That show became Ag in Motion.
I still operate a purebred Hereford herd and routinely calve out about 100 females. Our ranch produces a female sale in the fall and a bull sale in the spring.
How does digital agriculture or agtech play a role in your current job?
I’ve seen evolution in equipment from our tradeshow exhibitors. When I started in this business, quite a bit of equipment was adjusted for efficiency using mechanical means such as field markers, and by adjusting equipment with wrenches and bolts. Then in the early 2000s GPS began to be implemented in equipment, which saw immediate success. I’m guessing anyone born in the last 20 years doesn’t even know what the term “rabbit runs” in the field is!
Electronic sensors have evolved in farm equipment. Farmers can now use satellite systems, LoRa systems, IOT, and drones to help monitor their farming operations. On the ranch, we are now using new tracking systems and video systems to monitor the cattle at calving time.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in digital agriculture?
Agriculture is no longer just a small niche group of people with rural backgrounds. There is an increasing number of people from urban backgrounds entering the ag service and product world. This is because of the new digital tools that are used in the agriculture industry as well as other industries that make up our economy. There has been an amazing increase in efficiency, ease of work, speed and accuracy of information and increased wealth generation due to the digital services and products that have been invented in the past 20 years. I am excited to see where it goes from here. I’m also very interested in watching the development of AI and SWARM technology in agriculture!
What’s your favourite part about working in digital agriculture and agri-food?
I love explaining how advanced Canadian agriculture production has become to consumers. When I travel to other parts of the world, I love bragging about how advanced Canadian agriculture is compared to many other jurisdictions.
Why do you think digital agriculture is important, now more than ever?
The improvements made in the last 20 years as a result of electronic digital systems have changed so much. The industry is no longer seen as a low-end industry with low income that requires government handouts to survive. Production is now completed at a more efficient rate than ever before. Farmers are producing food at a higher rate that can continue to feed a growing population of people and animals. Information is gathered more quickly, which allows for more timely infield decisions, which allows for better yields and higher quality crops. All of this is done with less labour.
What’s the most interesting thing you see happening in digital agriculture right now?
I am excited to see new digital technologies that allow farmers to conduct soil tests and plant material tissue tests in the field within minutes. This allows farmers to deal with fertility issues, pest issues or moisture issues in a timely manner. I’m also excited about the new weather systems that use LORA technology, which relies less on the internet.
I am really looking forward to how AI will be used to operate an entire farm’s fleet of equipment for weed management, harvest of crops and even seeding of crops, and also to identify animals with a health risk and recommend treatments to the farmer when animals become ill.
This profile is part of EMILI’s This is Agriculture series, highlighting talented and diverse individuals across the digital agriculture sector. While individuals working in agriculture come from a variety of backgrounds, they share a common interest in growing and strengthening Canadian agriculture to ensure an environmentally and economically sustainable future for generations to come.