Design and Development of Mechanized Systems to Increase Farm Efficiency, Create Farm Traceability and Monitor True Cost of Production: A Pathway to Digital Agriculture

Traditional agricultural farming is not sustainable and severely requires new engineering advancements to remain competitive in both local and global markets. Increased discovery and innovation are required to fill the knowledge gap allowing development of new technologies and traceability protocols that will increase farm efficiency and use environmental resources more effectively. The long-term goal of this research program is to develop novel, innovative, integrated and environmentally sound systems, through fundamental and applied principals to implement, cutting-edge digital systems to increase farm efficiency, create farm traceability and monitor the true cost of production. The short-term objectives to be completed through this proposed Discovery Grant will uncover the fundamental factors responsible for complete farm traceability. Innovative new sensors and control devices coupled with predictive modelling methods will be developed for sustainable farm management. Real-time crop, disease and pest management software will be designed allowing advanced alert notification of vital activities while offering predictive decisions and built in cost monitoring. The complete farm traceability protocol that will be designed and implemented through this research will for the first time, give the farming community, processors, and the end consumer the satisfaction and security of top-notch food quality. The socio-economic and environmental impact will be studied with each developed innovation (pest detection sensors, crop forecast modelling, fruit traceability system, automated cost monitoring and prescriptions for inputs) as compared to traditional methods of farming. Over the next 5-years I will train a diverse and gender balanced team of highly qualified personnel (HQP). 1 PhD, 4 MSc and 5 undergraduate students will be trained in a fair and supportive environment. As an early career researcher, I will use my already established links with faculty within my department as well as collaborators at institutions both nationally and internationally to further increase my resources and learning opportunities for HQP. This research will fill the knowledge gap and train HQP in the new area of advanced mechanized systems. Novel ideas and inventions discovered through this research will be disseminated in scientific journals, national and international conference proceedings, factsheets and producer meetings. This research aligns with the federal governments strategic objectives opening new avenues for continued research. Wild blueberry will be the initial testing platform for new discoveries and developments; however, these technologies can then be modified and implemented into other horticultural crops. The shift to digital agriculture will increase crop productivity, reduce environmental impact and allow a positive succession to the next generation of upcoming Canadian farmers to help feed the worlds growing population with limited natural resources.