Farming electricity from plants Sunday, June 7, 2015 A Dutch start-up company, Plant-e, is harnessing electricity from living plants to power cell phone chargers, Wi-Fi hot spots and even LED street lights in two sites in the Netherlands. The goal is to provide electricity to the quarter of the world's population that doesn't have it.Plant-e uses a byproduct of photosynthesis, collecting electricity from plants growing in two-foot square plastic containers. As explained on the website inhabitat.com, growing plants produces more sugar through photosynthesis than the plants can use. The excess is cast out through their roots into the surrounding soil where it breaks down in protons and electrons. Plant-e electrodes in the soil collect that electricity.Company founders want to use plants growing near rice paddies and wetlands. The company is a spinoff from the sub-department of Environmental Technology of Wageningen University. BF 'Tweeting' attracts unwelcome attention Madness seen in a cow's eyes
Bayer De Ruiter® Advances Tomato Innovation Monday, June 1, 2026 I mid-May,BayerDe Ruiter®hosted its Spring Demo Day in Leamington, Ontario, bringing together growers and industry partners. The event gave attendees a close look at the latest developments in greenhouse tomatoes and specialty crop production. The event was held in one of North America’s... Read this article online
Wet Spring Delays Ontario Field Crop Progress Sunday, May 31, 2026 Persistent rainfall across Ontario through late May temporarily stalled fieldwork, but improving weather conditions are now helping farmers regain momentum, according to the latest Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) Field Crop News report released May... Read this article online
Sunrise Farms Expanding National Footprint in Ontario Sunday, May 31, 2026 British Columbia-based poultry producer Sunrise Farms is building a new $100 million processing plant in Woodstock, Ontario, the development be for a 155,000-square-foot facility. Sunrise Farms is a large Canadian poultry processor based in British Columbia that acquired Sargent Farms... Read this article online
Saskatchewan Startup Unveils Portable Device to Detect Crop Diseases in the Field Friday, May 29, 2026 With global crop losses from pests and diseases reaching as high as 40 percent annually, a Saskatchewan-based startup is working to equip farmers with faster, more practical tools to protect their yields. PathoScan Technologies, founded in Saskatoon, has developed a portable... Read this article online
Falling Behind on Direct Alcohol Shipping Deadline Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada’s small alcohol producers are growing increasingly frustrated as a promised timeline for direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol shipping reforms approaches with little visible progress. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling out federal and provincial... Read this article online