Meeting Notes - In Person Meeting - March 7th, 2025
New Members:
Nick Kinkel – Ministry of Rural Affairs
Deb Stark – CAAIN
Paul Moote – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Bill Boyce – Western Fair District
Patrick Wspanialy – Ecoation Inc.
New members, please be prepared to briefly introduce yourselves and touch on why you joined the group.
Presentations:
In-Person meeting will be a panel of speakers including Jana Tian from Upside Robotics, Matt Stevens from Finite Robotics, Cory Derycke of Harvest Corp, and Stefan Glibetic of Mycionics. New flyer highlighting speakers, please feel free to share.
Conferences/Meetings/Field Tours/Demonstrations
· London Farm Show – London, ON – March 5-7, 2025. https://www.londonfarmshow.com/
· Ottawa Valley Farm Show – Ottawa, ON – March 11-13, 2025. https://ottawafarmshow.com/
· Grand River Agricultural Society Spark V4 Symposium – April 15, 2025. https://gras.blitzen.com/form/SPARK-V4?_kx=gv4KhsjF7Taf829EsAP_FBSQc6SwAbP_wM0LpF8ox-PLjhd-etCIX4l20HUQLINo.UUrNv6
· AgRobotics Working Group Demo Day – Bradford Research Station – July 8, 2025. Registration details to come
· AgRobotics Working Group Demo Day – Simcoe Research Station – July 22, 2025. Registration details to come
Attendees at recent conferences, please be prepared to provide a brief update to the group.
Project Updates
Action Items From Previous Meeting(s)
Job Board
If you know of any job opportunities, please send the information to us so that we can add them on our website at the below link.
https://www.agroboticswg.com/job-board
Funding Announcements/Opportunities –
· Canada Business App https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/canada-business-app
· Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/programs/canadian-agricultural-strategic-priorities - Open until March 2029
· COLLABORATE 2 COMMERCIALIZE https://www.oc-innovation.ca/programs/collaborate-2-commercialize/ - Ongoing
· Agri-Innovate - AgriInnovate Program: Step 1. What this program offers - agriculture.canada.ca - Open until March 2028
· OMAFRA/SCAP Funding Announcement and Program Details Link - Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership | ontario.ca - Open until March 2028
· The Grow Ontario Accelerator Hub : Bioenterprise - Open until March 10
· OCI Critical Industrial Technologies Initiative - https://www.oc-innovation.ca/programs/cit/ - Ongoing
· CAAIN Open Competition - https://caain.ca/funding-calls/2024-open-competition/ - Open Intake
· TCS Canadian Technology Accelerator delegation to BEYOND2025 in Macau - https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/cta-atc/macao-entertainment-technology_technologies-divertissement-macao.aspx?lang=eng - Deadline March 31, 2025
· FoodTech Next Program – Program Guide – Intake opens February 24, Deadline May 26, 2025
· THRIVE Global Impact Challenge - https://thriveagrifood.com/thrive-global-impact-challenge-2025/ - Deadline May 25, 2025
· Canada - South Korea 2025-26 Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Call for Proposals – Deadline March 19, 2025
· Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) – Boston Tech and Life Sciences – Deadline March 21, 2025
Round Table
Other Items/Articles
Futuristic fields, how robotics and automation are slowly revolutionising agriculture
The Boom in Technological Agriculture: Investments in AgTech
London Farm Show Celebrates 85 Year Milestone, March 5-7
No more smashed avo: The Aussie robot fixing farming’s delicate problem
Meeting recordings will be posted to our website approximately 4 weeks later. https://www.agroboticswg.com/meetings
*Call for speakers/presentations – If you are interested in giving a presentation or have a recommendation of someone who you think would be a valuable speaker, please email Dan or Bridget.