Farmers eye drones - and so do animal rightists Tuesday, March 4, 2014 Are they a farming tool of the future? Or eye-in-the-sky spies? Depends on who's at the remote control. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that the Australian Lot Feeders Association wants tougher laws that stop animal rights groups from using aerial drones to spy on farm activities. Last year, the animal rights group Animal Liberation used a drone to film free-range egg farms in New South Wales, and then gave the footage to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate whether the farms were actually free-range. Currently, using drones to spy on farming activities is legal in most countries. Bruce Baer Arnold, assistant professor at the University of Canberra School of Law, predicts in The Conversation that "facility operators taking the law into their own hands, shooting pesky drones . . . we can expect to see some claims in court before too long." PETA's blog post "Game of Drones" reveals a plan to purchase a drone to monitor factory farms. This is about to get very interesting. But what if it's a farmer doing the spying? The Associated Press reports that experts see agriculture as the most promising commercial market for drones. Drones can be used to monitor disease, apply precision sprays of fertilizers and pesticides, even scare away birds and other pests. Idaho farmer Robert Blair, who built his own drone to monitor his 1,500-acre farm, tells the AP "we're talking surgical agriculture, which allows us to be more environmentally friendly." BF Academic advocates user fees for agricultural antibiotics Pollution wrecks Chinese farmland
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online
Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online
Twelve Ontario Agri-Businesses Receive Funding Support Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Bioenterprise Canada has announced the successful recipients of the second call for proposals under the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Commercialization Stream. Twelve organizations across Ontario will receive support to bring innovative agri-food solutions to the... Read this article online