Better Farming - November 2016

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8 FarmNews First > Better Farming November 2016
SHORTTAKES
NewHolland and Case IH,
agricultural brands of CNH
Industrial, both unveiled
futuristic prototypes for
autonomous field tractors at this
year’s Farm Progress Show in
Boone, Iowa.
Nobody’s saying much about how soon self-driving
tractors will become commercially available. But it’s hap-
pening more quickly than expected by University of
Manitoba agricultural engineering researcher Dr. Danny
Mann .
The use of driverless field machines poses a number of
questions Mann and his graduate students hope to answer
about how radical automation changes field work.
“Maybe not from a technical standpoint, but I think there
still will be some challenges to figure out exactly how these
machines are going to be utilized,” said Mann, who referred
also to potential legal liability issues for driverless tractors.
The Case IH prototype is based on a cab-less redesign of
the company’s Magnum tractor, the company’s website says.
It features radar and LiDAR (laser-sensing) guidance and
onboard video cameras.
The New Holland prototype is similarly automatic but
maintains the cab, outward appearance and operator
functions of the company’s T8 Blue Power tractor line.
CNH Industrial
collaborated with
Autonomous Solutions
Inc. of Utah on both
concept tractors. BF
An expected bumper Canadian crop saw earlier than usual
grain exports through the
expanding Port of Hamilton, Port
Authority spokesperson Larissa
Fenn said in an interview.
As of Aug. 31, almost 500,000
tonnes of grain had moved, up
more than 50 per cent from the
previous year, Fenn said. She cited greater quantities of 2015
crop corn. Port officials expected shipments would return to
“more typical volumes” as the 2016 harvest proceeded.
Elsewhere, the Hudson Bay Port of Churchill, Manitoba
remained closed through September following July an-
nouncements by U.S.-based OmniTRAX. But other
elements of Canada’s grain transportation network had
geared up early for the expected record harvest.
In an Aug. 17 statement, Canadian Pacific CEO E.
Hunter Harrison declared his rail company’s readiness and
cited major, new capital investments to avoid snags experi-
enced during the winter of 2013-14.
Hamilton is part of that new investment having grown
rapidly in recent years. Investments by established grain
handlers, Parrish &Heimbecker Ltd. and Richardson
International Ltd., have helped Hamilton become the
province’s “largest gateway for Ontario-grown grain”
handling corn, wheat and soybeans. The city is also home to
oilseed crushing facilities operated by U.S.-based Bunge Ltd.
Also this year, G3 Canada Ltd. began construction in
Hamilton of a third grain-export terminal to be in service
for the 2017 harvest. It brings recent capital investment in
agri-food-related facilities for the Port to more than $200
million, Fenn said. BF
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson
has proposed amendments to the
Pesticides Act, and specifically the
neonicotinoid regulations, with a
private member’s bill.
Bill 4, Supporting Agricultural
Experts in their Field Act, 2016, is
intended to make these regulations
“more workable,” according to
Thompson.
As the Act currently stands,
beginning August 2017, Professional
Agrologists (P.Ags) and Certified
Crop Advisors (CCAs) associated
with manufacturers or retailers of a
Class 12 pesticide cannot serve as
professional pest advisors. (By 2019,
under the current regulations,
farmers must have professional pest
advisors complete soil inspections in
order to plant neonicotinoid-treated
seed.)
Bill 4 would eliminate these
exclusions and enable the currently
ineligible CCAs and P.Ags to “be out
there in the field, doing their jobs,”
says Thompson.
Laura Johnston, CCA-ON, is a
territory manager with Maizex Seeds
Inc. and one of the CCAs who is
currently ineligible to work as a
professional pest advisor.
“Personally, I think the proposed
amendments would be a benefit both
to agriculture and growers,” says
Johnston. Farmers would be able to
work with CCAs and P.Ags with
whom they’ve developed relation-
ships, such
as their
crop input
retailers,
says
Johnston.
Bill 4 passed first and second
readings in mid-September.
The Bill has been referred to the
Standing Committee on General
Government. According to the
Legislative Research Service, the
Committee will examine the bill,
consult witnesses and vote on amend-
ments. Thompson said she hopes the
committee will complete its examina-
tion “as quickly as possible,” given the
August 2017 implementation date for
the current regulations. BF
Autonomous tractors:
What’s a farmer to do?
Hamilton grain exports start early
Easing neonic regulations?
CNH Industrial photo
DarcyMaulsby/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo
CNH Industrial photo tfoxfoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo