These sorts of things are often only truly verified once the season wraps up and the crop is in the bin, but what if you had indicators throughout the season that could give you an edge?

A company called Agribot in the Agtech Accelerator Cultivator program aims to do just that.

Agribot is a precision ag company that uses atmospheric forecasting and artificial intelligence to predict how your fields react in different situations.

By using a combination of forecast models and radar satellites, Emma Chapelhow, director of operations, said Agribot can predict how plants are meant to grow in a particular field up to six weeks in advance.

“What makes us different is we create an individual model for every single field,” said Chapelhow.

This can assist growers in management decisions, such as crop inputs, based on what the data tells them.

She said Agribot has plotted every field in the United Kingdom and developed a model based on each field’s historical response to atmospheric and growing conditions.

“We’re able to create a model on how your field likes to behave,” said Chapelhow, “and therefore we create a more accurate picture of your agricultural productivity.”

One example Chapelhow uses is how grass-fed dairy cattle producers use Pasture AI, a pasture management tool the company offers.

Producers use it to understand their grass growth up to six weeks in advance to make grazing decisions.

This has also allowed producers to rotate cattle in grazing areas more in line with what fields can provide, she added.

“Some of our farmers have reported an increase in grass utilization by one tonne per hectare,” she added.

“In 2023 that equated to a £334 (about C$620) saving per hectare per year.”

When it comes to commodity crops, Chapelhow said Agribot helps monitor planting, growth stage and harvest, all in an effort to predict yields at regional and national levels.

Whether the weather?

So what makes Agribot’s method of forecasting more reliable than current methods.

Chapelhow said weather forecasts alone are more prone to error when predicting agricultural productivity, adding that Agribot’s use of atmospheric forecasts can provide a higher level of accuracy.

Since Agribot primarily uses radar imagery instead of optical imagery, the data is more consistent because radar is not affected by cloud cover.

“Two weeks out, we’re 90 per cent accurate, and up to four weeks out we’re 80 per cent accurate,” said Chapelhow, “just using atmospheric forecasting rather than weather.”

In the U.K., that means Agribot gets as many as three data points a week, whereas cloud cover casts shade on optical satellites, and weeks of data could be lost if skies are overcast for long periods of time.

“If optical data is available, our AI will take it,” said Chapelhoe, “but our models are fundamentally based on radar which means we’ve always got that consistent data point.”

A decade of data

The data that Agribot uses to form the basis of its models comes from the Sentinel-1, a European Space Agency (ESA) radar satellite.

On the ESA website, the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission is described as a two-satellite constellation. Each satellite carries advanced radar to provide, day or night, all-weather imagery of the Earth’s surface.

The first of four Sentinels in orbit, Sentinel-1 has been collecting data since 2016.

“That’s where we get the historical data,” said Chapelhow, “so we can see what that field’s been doing for 10 years.”

“Where our innovation comes in is being able to link atmospheric forecasting to agricultural productivity.”

REAL District let tenants in both Canada Centre and Stockman’s Arena know June 18.

Regina-based Brandt Sports and Entertainment, part of the Brandt Group of Companies that includes agricultural manufacturing, purchased seven facilities on the REAL District grounds earlier this year from the city. The transfer was to begin in July, according to the city’s website about the deal.

They include the Brandt Centre, the Agribition Building, which was already being converted into an entertainment space, Queensbury Centre, AgEx Pavilion, Stockman’s Arena and the commercial barn, and Canada Centre.

The SSGA and CWA offices are in Canada Centre. The Canadian Bison Association and its Saskatchewan counterpart are in Stockman’s Arena.

Others affected include the Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions and two sports organizations that regularly used Canada Centre for volleyball and pickleball.

Brandt did not yet respond to a request for more information.

Just a day before the verbal notice, at Agribition’s 55th annual general meeting, members heard there were challenges ahead as the show would have less space to work with this year, including cattle housing and wash racks. The wash rack in Canada Centre, as well as the entire Canada Centre East, won’t be available.

Why it Matters: Agribition is Canada’s largest livestock show, drawing considerable economic benefits for the city and province. Last year, more than 700 international visitors from 76 countries attended.

Michael Latimer, now past president, told reporters before the meeting he had few details about the coming changes, except that the show had worked around construction in the past and would do so again.

“There’s a lot of things in play at the moment,” he said.

Agribition wasn’t consulted during the business transaction and he said staff and volunteers are focused on putting on the best possible show.

The 2025 show generated economic activity worth $$151.3 million, up 30 per cent from 2023. Attendance was a record 151,037, generating $109.7 million in tourist spending, according to Agribition.

A delegation from Mexico spent $280,000 at the show, said chief executive officer Shaun Kindopp.

It recorded profit of about $210,000, compared to a loss of $13,000 the previous year. The show has changed its fiscal year end from Jan. 31 to March 31 to better capture all the show revenue and expenses.

Latimer and Kindopp both attributed the largest profit since the International Trade Centre was built to staff, volunteers and the people who buy tickets to attend the rodeo and other events.

However, amid all the good news, the changes at REAL District loom.

Kindopp appeared at city council when the deal was discussed and said the show was clear that costs, the show footprint and show dates must be protected.

Showing a map of which buildings will be available, he told members there would be no livestock going into Canada Centre as of now. That affects alpacas, sheep and several breeds of purebred cattle.

“We are working to ensure that all of our risk is mitigated in this,” he said.

“Agribition is a livestock show. Agribition is here to commit that this event goes, that this event retains all of the livestock.

“We are not interested in negotiating to try and remove livestock from our organization.”

The show is looking at putting another tent up beside the existing covered structures next to tie-outs to ensure that there is power, water and ventilation, he said. Exhibitors should get what they would have if they were in Canada Centre, he said, adding they are “fighting for every single square inch.”

Kindopp also said they are looking for a wash rack solution, rather than have people take cattle from the tents to the ITC.

The show has asked for 115,000 sq. feet, but he said the amount is one thing and how it’s used is another.

Several members and exhibitors said they were concerned about the loss of space and how all the livestock would be accommodated.

The city is retaining Mosaic Stadium, Co-operators Centre and the AffinityPlex. It will continue to own the ITC, which Brandt will lease and operate.

Working through these challenges will be the first order of business for the new executive elected June 17. Karl Sauter from Wawota, Sask., is the new president, as Latimer has served his term. Mona Aulie from Rouleau is vice-president and members at large are Christine Ewer Hill from Redvers, Sask., Bruce Holmquist from Kinistino, Sask., and Glenn Lipsett from Pilot Butte, Sask.

The elected board of directors includes: Jordan Clarke, Rouleau; Kelly Howe, Moose Jaw; Courtney MacDougall, Regina; Grant McLellan, Regina; Ian McNaughton, Gravenhurst, Ont.; Sandra Hessdorfer, Middle Lake, Sask.; Myles Immerkar, Airdrie, Alta.; and, Roxane Lieverse, Calgary.

That is the problem OpticAg, a Winnipeg-headquartered company, is attempting to solve with its operational intelligence platform designed to pull farm information into one place.

The company combines low-cost, long-range sensors, existing farm data, weather information and operational insights into a single platform that helps farmers identify issues sooner and make faster, more informed operational decisions.

Why it Matters: Connecting farm data from sensors, equipment and software could help producers spend less time checking systems and more time acting on what needs attention.

Marco Hunstad, co-founder of OpticAg, said most farms already use several kinds of technology. They may have weather data, grain monitoring systems, equipment data, cameras and farm software, but those tools often operate separately.

“The biggest challenge that we hear isn’t the lack of data,” he said.

“It’s that the information is spread across multiple systems.”

That leaves farmers checking multiple apps, driving to look at remote assets or trying to piece together what is happening across an operation that may cover a wide area.

“The goal is not simply to monitor the farm but to help farmers reduce operational blind spots and focus their attention where it is needed most,” said Hunstad.

Sensors add visibility

OpticAg is focused on three main areas: grain and storage monitoring, safety and security around facilities and equipment, and field and weather insights.

He used the example of field-level weather monitoring. A large farm may only have a few weather stations because of hardware and subscription costs. The system’s long-range sensors are intended to make it more practical to place more sensors across more fields.

That can matter after a rain.

“One field might get three inches of rain, another field might get half an inch and one field might get nothing,” he said.

“So, rather than having to drive all the way out to check, they can get a full view of what’s happening across their farm.”

Hunstad said that visibility can help support decisions around seeding, spraying, harvest timing and day-to-day field operations.

The system can also monitor grain and storage facilities, track bin conditions, watch remote buildings and alert users to issues such as an open overhead door, after-hours access, equipment tampering, fans turning on or power outages that require immediate attention.

Some of those capabilities are being evaluated at EMILI’s Innovation Farms near Grosse Isle, Man., where sensors and decision-support models are being tested on grain bins as part of the company’s Connected Farm Platform.

The system also has an AI component, but Hunstad said it is meant to support the platform rather than define it.

“We see AI as a tool, not the product,” he said.

As more farm signals are pulled into one place, he said the role of AI is to help identify patterns and surface operational risks and provide farmers with greater awareness of what may require attention across their operation.

Notes from the field

The company has also launched Scribe, a voice-first note-taking app designed for farmers and farm teams. The app allows users to speak notes into a phone, transcribe them, tag them to a field, asset, location or whole farm and sync them with OpticAg when connectivity is available.

Scribe is available in the Apple App Store, with an Android version expected to follow. It is designed to work without cellular service or internet access, saving notes on the phone and syncing them once the user is back in range.

Hunstad said the app was prompted by farmers who said they needed a better way to capture field observations or tasks without relying on notebooks that may not be searchable or easily shared.

Ag in Motion

OpticAg is part of the Agtech Accelerator run by Cultivator, a Regina-based start-up accelerator created by Conexus Credit Union. The three-month program connects ag-tech startups with farmers, industry mentors and investors, and its 2026 cohort wraps up with a finale week at Ag in Motion and in Saskatoon.

Follow all our Ag in Motion coverage here.

He said the program has helped his company connect with farmers, industry leaders, investors and other ag-tech founders, while also pressure testing its technology and value proposition.

Hunstad said he is looking forward to demonstrating OpticAg’s platform at Ag in Motion and showing farmers how improved visibility and decision support can help them manage growing operational complexity across the farm.

The review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement kicks off July 1, and the rhetoric will ratchet up as that process evolves.

“There’s going to be an awful lot of noise,” said Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

“But the important thing is to keep an eye on the facts, and the facts are that it’s a really important deal for all three countries, and I think the U.S. administration recognizes that.”

U.S. president Donald Trump already stirred the pot with recent comments he made to reporters at the G7 Summit in France.

“I’d rather not have the agreement, but I may sign it,” he said, according to Reuters.

“We do better as a country if we don’t have an agreement.”

However, Harvey said key facets of the U.S. economy do not share that sentiment, including the agriculture sector.

Why it Matters: The United States and Mexico accounted for nearly two-thirds of Canada’s agri-food exports in 2024.

U.S. farmers, industries want CUSMA extended

A group of 124 U.S. national and state farm organizations recently sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative calling for a 16-year renewal of the pact, noting that there has been a tripling of the value of agri-food trade with the three countries between 2005 and 2023.

“Without the economic might that this trilateral agreement affords, farmer incomes would be harmed, as the industry would be saddled with additional and burdensome costs related to transportation and compliance measures,” stated the letter.

CUSMA came into effect July 1, 2020, and expires July 1, 2036, unless the three countries agree to extend it after a joint review that happens every six years.

It is Canada’s most important trade deal for agriculture. The U.S. accounted for 61.9 per cent of Canada’s $100 billion in agri-food exports in 2024, while Mexico chipped in another 2.2 per cent, according to Agriculture Canada.

Harvey said it is important not to conflate CUSMA with agricultural trade between Canada and the U.S. Trade between the two countries existed before the deal was made and will exist after it expires.

Trade is driven by the proximity of the two countries and the need for one another’s goods and services.

CUSMA offers stability

What CUSMA does is provide a stable, legal framework for trade that allows Canadian producers to make investment decisions.

“Losing it would be very damaging, but it wouldn’t mean the end of Canada-U.S. trade,” he said.

Krishen Rangasamy, principal economist with Farm Credit Canada, said there is considerable anxiety surrounding the review.

“We’re now at that six-year mark, which explains why markets as well as businesses and households across North America are holding their breath,” he said in a recent analysis piece he wrote for FCC’s website.

Rangasamy said the best outcome of the review for Canada’s exporters is an extension of the agreement for another 16 years through 2042 and removal of U.S. Section 232 tariffs.

That would provide clarity to businesses and governments and facilitate the planning and deployment of capital.

“But considering the apparent nationalist bent of this White House, we believe this scenario has a low probability of materializing,” he said.

Harvey said a 16-year renewal is the desired outcome for Canada’s agri-food exporters, but Canada isn’t driving the bus.

“The reality is, it depends more than anything else on what the U.S. administration wants,” he said.

Rangasamy said the agreement could also be terminated by one of the three countries with a six-month notice, another low probability scenario.

“Given how integrated supply chains are in North America, this scenario would unleash unprecedented economic disruptions, which U.S. politicians will be keen to avoid ahead of November’s mid-term elections,” he said.

CUSMA is unlikely to go away

Harvey shares that belief. He believes the three countries will eventually “get to a good place” because key elements of all three economies want that outcome.

“I don’t think it’s very realistic that the agreement would go away,” he said.

Rangasamy believes the most likely outcome is something between the two extremes.

“One example of that could be the refusal by the U.S. to agree to a clean extension of CUSMA, which would trigger mandatory annual reviews,” he said.

The original 16-year term would remain in place, but the three countries would have to meet every year to resolve grievances.

“While better than outright termination of CUSMA, this ‘in the middle’ scenario is still fraught with challenges for Canada,” he said.

It would create uncertainties for businesses and potentially curtail long-term investments.

U.S. Section 232 tariffs on autos and parts, steel, copper and aluminum products would likely remain in place.

“Indeed, without guarantees that American tariffs won’t change for the worse in the future, exporters eyeing the vast U.S. market may be reluctant to build new production facilities in Canada,” said Rangasamy.

Harvey said there is no official deadline for the review to be completed. In theory, the three parties have 10 years to agree to an extension.

“That means the real deadline is July 1, 2036, not 2026,” he said.

While that aspiration is still relevant, we’ve come a long way in the past decade or two, and we should celebrate the successes.

The biggest value-added success story is undoubtedly canola. We’re on our way to crushing 75 per cent of our most important crop. Not long ago, 75 per cent was being exported as seed.

Sure, a number of planned crush plants have gone by the wayside, including Viterra (now Bunge) in Regina, AGT Foods, also in Regina, as well as a facility at Northgate, Sask., right on the U.S. border.

However, the new Cargill plant is up and running in Regina, and Louis Dreyfus at Yorkton, Sask., will soon have a big celebration to mark its canola plant expansion, as well as a new pea fractionation facility.

Pea fractionation has seen some notable plant failures, but there are even more success stories.

Some plants use a wet fractionation process, while others use dry. Some are massive facilities, while others are more moderate, but it’s all secondary processing.

Recently, together with a number of other ag journalists, I had a chance to tour the massive Grain Millers facility at Yorkton.

It processes 23 million bushels of oats per year, turning the raw oats into flakes and rolled product. It has an organic line and also serves gluten free markets. Half the Yorkton mill’s market is gluten free.

Terry Tyson, president of Grain Millers Canada, says the plant has expanded 12-fold since being purchased from Popowich Milling 25 years ago.

Grain Millers claims to be North America’s largest industrial oat supplier, but Richardson is a similar size. Plus, there are several other significant players in the oat market.

Canada has the oat production and the U.S. has the oat consumption base. It’s an integrated market with American companies such as Grain Millers investing on this side of the border.

Tyson says the use of oats in beverages was a game changer for demand. In fact, 25 per cent of its business serves the oat beverage market, a category that didn’t really exist before 2018.

A year ago, Grain Millers started a 30,000-tonne flax processing facility at Delisle, Sask., just west of Saskatoon. The plant deals with conventional and organic flax in both brown and yellow varieties.

Many other companies also have flax processing facilities in operation, serving various markets.

AGT Food and Ingredients, based in Regina, has become a worldwide company and a leader in lentil processing.

With the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s sales monopoly of wheat, durum and export barley in 2012, many predicted huge growth in secondary processing of these crops. Very few people bemoan the loss of the CWB’s monopoly, but it perhaps wasn’t the impediment to value-added processing that many assumed.

Yes, we have flour mills for wheat and some semolina production from durum, and yes, there are malting plants for barley, but not much has changed for these crops in the past 14 years. In fact, it might be argued that malt production from barley has struggled.

Perhaps value-added success with these crops is still to come, but in the meantime, it’s marvellous to see what’s happening with canola, oats, peas, lentils and flax.

The growth hasn’t happened overnight, but with the success of each new facility comes jobs, economic activity, better market stability and more marketing options for farmers.

In many parts of Alberta, repeated rainfall events have left soils saturated and, in some areas, standing water is visible in fields.

According to Deanne Madsen, a nutrient management specialist with Alberta’s agriculture and irrigation department, some regions have received roughly one-and-a-half to two times their normal precipitation for this time of year.

“We have standing pools of water in the field,” she said, adding that southern areas have seen substantial rainfall accumulation while central and northern regions have received even more.

Why it Matters: Changing moisture conditions across the Prairies are reshaping fertilizer risk in real time, forcing producers to rethink how and when nitrogen is most vulnerable in the field.

That shift in moisture conditions is changing how producers and agronomists are thinking about nitrogen behaviour in soil.

After earlier-season concerns about volatilization and surface losses under hot, dry and windy conditions, Madsen said the current focus has moved toward saturated soil processes and crop response under excess moisture.

“With soils now saturated, the concern shifts,” she said.

“Instead of volatilization, we’re now more concerned about denitrification, especially where water is sitting for several days.”

Denitrification happens in waterlogged soils when bacteria convert plant-available nitrate into gaseous nitrogen, which is then lost from the soil.

The risk is particularly pronounced in heavier rainfall zones, while lighter, coarser soils may still see some movement of nitrogen downward where water infiltration continues, Madsen said.

Dry conditions

The wet conditions stand in contrast to earlier in the season, when parts of the Prairies, including Manitoba, were dealing with hot, dry and windy weather that raised concerns about nitrogen loss from surface-applied fertilizer.

Nutrient management specialist Marla Reikman said producers applying urea on the soil surface can face significant risks if rainfall does not follow quickly enough to move fertilizer into the soil.

Urea applied to the surface can be vulnerable to volatilization, particularly in warm, dry conditions where wind increases evaporation and speeds up the chemical conversion of urea into ammonia at the soil surface.

“The urease enzymes that naturally exist in the soil start transforming that urea very quickly into ammonia … and that ammonium volatilization can occur,” Reikman said.

The transformation process can lead to nitrogen escaping into the atmosphere if it is not incorporated or moved into the soil profile by rainfall.

Under ideal conditions, producers aim for roughly half an inch of rain to move surface-applied nitrogen into the soil, where it is less vulnerable to loss. Without that moisture, alternatives such as urease inhibitors can help slow the conversion process and provide more time for rainfall to occur.

Physical incorporation remains the most reliable way to reduce loss, though typical field operations such as harrowing or light tillage may not fully bury fertilizer granules, Reikman said.

Even higher-disturbance equipment may leave a significant portion of fertilizer near the surface.

“So, ultimately, the goal is getting the fertilizer down into the soil,” Reikman said.

Placement efficiency can make a significant difference in nitrogen use, with general estimates suggesting banded or incorporated applications can improve efficiency compared to surface broadcasting.

However, Reikman cautioned that increasing rates to compensate for potential losses is often not economically practical given current input costs.

I made phone calls and emails to the ministry and local MLAs. I shared on social media. I celebrated when the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation was victorious in getting it granted.

And then the news came that complexity funding was only available for schools of more than 75 students. What a gut punch.

As if small schools don’t experience learning disabilities, behaviour issues or language barriers. As if one teacher trying to create a lesson plan for the five grades she teaches in one classroom has no complexity at all.

Such disappointment. Rural schools left in the dust yet again.

And then the double whammy came — not only would we not be receiving funding or an additional teacher body to assist with complexity, but the existing teacher complement we currently had was going to be cut further. That was it. That’s the final straw.

Rural schools matter. Our rural students matter.

We already have to deal with pot-hole filled roads, no cell service and internet that can’t handle Netflix without buffering a thousand times that makes us feel forgotten by our governments and corporations.

But sub par education? That shouldn’t be tolerated.

These students are the children of the families that are feeding our world, raising the cattle and growing the crops that gave Saskatchewan the nickname “bread basket of Canada.” Politicians love to use that phrase when touting how amazing our province is, but when it comes to providing support for those very same families, all you can hear is the sound of crickets coming from government. Just like the sounds of crickets on our lands.

And believe me, our rural teachers are trying their best. They give and give and give.

They volunteer more than anywhere else to ensure our small-school students get as much of a “school experience” as they can with such small numbers.

Sports require combining multiple schools to make a team, and driving and driving and driving to small towns or cities hours apart to compete.

But they can only do so much. They have lives and their own families to prioritize, too.

In a school with four teachers, sports and clubs require high volunteer participation from teachers. Every single adult body in the school matters immensely.

Losing even one body makes things like recess supervision, prep time and sports nearly impossible to pull off.

Our students lose out on the knowledge, life experiences and passions they bring to the school — one less interest shared with a student that inspires them to pursue science or art or travel.

The impacts are more than just numbers on paper. Its effect is felt deeply by everyone who enters the building.

In a school where there are five grades to a classroom and grades 10-12 are taught 60 per cent online, low registration becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy.

New families choose to live elsewhere where their kids will receive a more normal version of the school experience. And so, the cuts continue to come.

But here’s the kicker— we’re considered a “school of necessity.” There are no other schools in the region close enough for our students to attend.

So if we’re a school of necessity, why do we continue to feel like we’re on the brink of closure?

Why are our students forced to endure educational and support gaps that would be considered completely unacceptable in a bigger centre?

Why must our continuously shrinking teacher complement be left to figure out how to fill the gaps and make it work?

Why were the complexities that rural schools experience completely ignored and left out?

I, for one, would love an answer.

Kira Glas is a farm wife and mother living in Val Marie, Sask.

Health Canada issued a letter of no objection to the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association (CADA) on June 10, creating an interim pathway for farmers to apply any pesticide already registered for aerial application using remotely piloted aircraft.

For an industry that has been pushing for this moment for years, the letter was a long-overdue milestone.

“Previously there were no agricultural pesticides approved by PMRA to apply by drone at all, so there was literally nothing that could be applied legally,” said Markus Weber, president of the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association.

Why it Matters: A new federal green light for drone pesticide spraying is already changing how some farmers manage wet fields, even as questions about safety, training, and regulation lag behind.

The move came amid unusually wet conditions across parts of Western Canada that left fields inaccessible and shortened herbicide windows.

It followed a February proposal by the federal Pesticides Regulatory Directorate to formally recognize drones as aerial application equipment.

The change brings Health Canada’s February proposal, which would formally classify drones as aircraft and open registered aerial pesticides to drone application, into force on an interim basis until a final policy is published, expected later this summer or fall.

However, farmers aren’t waiting for the final rules. Drone application has already happened this season, driven in part by the wet weather that made conventional ground equipment impossible to operate in affected areas.

“There will be growers using it this season. There’s no question that that’s happening already,” Weber said.

He expects early adoption to concentrate in lower-risk applications, including fungicide, brush control and desiccation.

The technology’s logistical advantages are real even beyond emergency situations, Weber said.

“We won’t be able to spray all of Western Canada, by any means. This is still going to be a very small part of the total spray arsenal that Western Canada has.”

Weber was careful to frame the letter as an interim step, not a final answer.

“There’s never a guarantee that the final (result) will look like the interim,” he said, adding the letter itself becomes void once a final policy is published.

Policy warning

Not everyone in the agricultural application world shares the industry’s enthusiasm, at least not without reservations.

Tom Wolf, an application specialist with Agrimetrix Research & Training and the website Sprayers101, called the regulatory shift a “significant departure” from the agency’s historically cautious, science-based approach.

“Someone said to me, ‘this is no longer a science decision, this is a policy decision.’ Someone’s decided we’re going to do this, and whether or not the science is there is a different question,” said Wolf, who previously spent five years as a scientist seconded to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, now called the Pesticides Regulatory Directorate.

Health Canada released the letter through the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association’s website rather than its own, an unusual move for an agency that typically publishes regulatory decisions through official channels, Wolf said.

The regulatory framework as written also leaves critical technical gaps that standard aerial label directions don’t address, which Wolf believes may mislead drone operators.

Drone sprayers produce finer droplets than the international sizing standards referenced on aerial pesticide labels. A drone set to deliver a “medium” spray quality is not producing the same droplet size as a crewed aircraft at the same setting.

“It’s finer, so it’s riskier, and we don’t have any language on the label to warn users that you might think you’re complying, but you’re actually not,” Wolf said.

Swath width is another problem. Unlike boom sprayers, which lay down a consistent, predictable band, drone coverage varies with flight height, droplet size, speed, wind direction and tank fill level.

Wolf says these variables can each independently alter how wide a strip the drone actually covers. Operators who rely on manufacturer specifications may find their coverage narrower than expected, leading to missed strips that only become visible as crop irregularities weeks later.

“When do you find that out? When it’s too late to respray,” he said.

Label directions also require that the person mixing and loading pesticide not be the same person piloting the drone, a separation of duties designed to limit chemical exposure.

On most farm operations, that means two people are legally required for every application, a constraint Wolf said will limit adoption on smaller operations.

Provincial rules

The federal interim permission doesn’t resolve provincial gaps.

Most provinces have not yet established certification pathways for drone pesticide applicators, Weber said.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have frameworks in place; others are still developing them.

The letter of no objection requires compliance with provincial certification laws, but in the three Prairie provinces, farmers who spray their own fields with conventional equipment are generally exempt from provincial certification requirements, meaning the training gap may be wide even among operators who believe they’re in compliance.

Wolf is also concerned about the best-selling agricultural spray drone in Canada.

The DJI Agras T100 has a 100-litre tank and weighs approximately 170 kilograms when fully loaded. Transport Canada requires a Special Flight Operations Certificate for remotely piloted aircraft systems exceeding 150 kg, a threshold the T100 exceeds at full capacity.

There’s also a real risk of conflicts in shared airspace, Wolf said.

Drone spraying season in Western Canada coincides with peak season for crewed aerial applicators, putting both in the same airspace simultaneously. Drones typically operate without filing flight plans or communicating with air traffic control.

“Now imagine people without certification and without contact with the tower or a flight plan using the same airspace,” Wolf said.

Operator discretion

Weber and Wolf agree that what happens next will largely depend on individual farmers making responsible choices in the absence of robust enforcement.

There are roughly 20 pesticide enforcement officers covering nearly 100,000 applicators across the Prairie provinces, Wolf said, and the system is complaints-driven.

Until the letter of no objection, every agricultural drone spray application in Canada was technically illegal, but zero operators have been ticketed.

“Whether or not we spray under windy conditions is entirely up to our own scruples, our own ability to mitigate the risk. The same will apply to these drones,” he said.

Training is the critical next step as adoption grows, Weber said.

“There’s definitely a need for more training, there’s no question about that.”

Maybe not Coachella, exactly, but the California desert in April and an open field near Saskatoon in July have more in common than you might think. Both require sunscreen, comfortable shoes and a hat.

Follow all our Ag in Motion coverage here.

At Ag in Motion, that hat is less likely to be adorned with glowsticks and more likely to feature the logo of a seed company, machinery dealer or crop input supplier, but the festival feeling is there.

People arrive in waves, park in fields, consult maps, eat at food trucks and spend the day walking from one attraction to the next. Instead of stages, there are themed pavilions. Instead of set times for bands, there are drone demos, antique tractor pulls and plot tours.

And, like any good festival, there is merch.

At Ag in Motion, the merch haul comes in the form of swag bags stuffed with caps, water bottles, rain gauges and enough branded pens and stationery to stock a farm office until well past harvest.

The difference, of course, is that people are not there to escape, except from the fact that they may not quite be able to afford the million-dollar combine they’re eyeing up. It may be a break from farm work, but they’re ultimately there because they hope to leave with a good idea.

That’s what makes the show interesting. The buzz around a new machine, input, crop variety or digital tool is not just about novelty. It is about whether it might solve a problem, save time, reduce risk or make a farm more efficient.

There is still plenty of spectacle. Combines, sprayers and tractors have a way of drawing a crowd, but underneath the festival atmosphere, Ag in Motion is a practical event.

People come to look, talk, compare notes and ask the same question farmers always ask when something new appears: would this work on my farm?

It’s important we pull together as a country to withstand these assaults.

The mandatory six-year joint review provision in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement occurs July 1, so our trading relationship with the United States will again dominate news cycles.

The three countries will likely miss an outright renewal of CUSMA by this date because Trump prefers separate, bilateral negotiations.

If an agreement or extension is not achieved at this scheduled checkpoint, the treaty will remain in force until 2036.

There is a chance the upcoming talks could result in the phasing out of CUSMA, but this agreement is popular with powerful U.S. industries and companies important to Trump’s base.

Pulling out of this agreement would be easier said than done for Trump, especially ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

This is why prime minister Mark Carney has been able to take a measured, patient approach with Trump.

Most Canadian exports to the U.S., including agricultural goods, have not been affected by the recent American tariffs.

The attacks that the U.S. will launch on Canadian trading practices and character will continue to be both unfair and unhinged.

For instance, U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra recently said making Canada the 51st state would be “a great discussion for the president” and Prime Minister Carney to have.

Even more troubling is the alleged meetings between State Department officials and Alberta separatists, considering it’s still unknown exactly what support the Alberta separatists asked for and what they received.

There has been an escalation of online foreign actors, powered by offshore bot farms, that spread disinformation and hate through social media to stoke division within Canada.

In many ways, it will be up to Canadians how much damage is done by these efforts to undermine Canadian unity.

Trump’s power in the U.S. is rooted in his ability to gather a fan base by presenting himself as a solution to serious longstanding issues, including the high cost of living, corruption and the costly wars the U.S. enters far from its own shores.

It doesn’t seem to matter to Trump’s fans that he doesn’t take his own promises seriously or that his policies tend to exacerbate the issues that concern them.

Trump’s military wars and trade wars have increased the cost of living in the U.S., added billions of dollars to its debt and cost the lives of U.S. soldiers.

On corruption, Trump has achieved new lows when it comes to how much he, his family and associates have been able to profit from his control of the White House.

None of this has affected his devout supporters, some of whom are Canadian.

Just as Trump’s messages and antics are not meant to win over a broad swath of the U.S. electorate, his communications approach toward Canadians is directed at a small but vocal subset.

This is where you can help to deflect the hot air blowing north across the 49th parallel.

Firstly, don’t buy into any rhetoric that suggests Canada is an unfair trading partner that treats Americans terribly. Striving to conduct our affairs with integrity is a Canadian value, which is why we always rank near the top of international surveys on the most trusted and revered countries.

Secondly, Canada has been very good to many of the people that tend to repeat flawed perspectives funnelled into the country’s discourse by foreign actors — it doesn’t hurt to point this out every once and a while.

It’s also important to remember that the U.S. is not one hegemonic entity and that we still have many friends in the country with interests that align with our own.

An example of this is a recent letter written by more than 150 Canadian, U.S., and Mexican companies within the food and agricultural value chains that shows support for a renewal of CUSMA.

Patience is a virtue, and we must exercise ours as we strive for a fair trading relationship with our southern neighbour.