Meeting Notes - OCI - November 1, 2024
New Members:
Emily Nanne – Bioenterprise Canada
Debjani Mukherjee – Spica Systems Inc
Manick Annamalai – University of Guelph
Eric Adamson – Tortuga AgTech
New members, please be prepared to briefly introduce yourselves and touch on why you joined the group.
Presentations:
Presenter: Robert McMillan
Organization: Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI)
Title: Agri-Food Funding Opportunities from the Ontario Centre of Innovation
Conferences/Meetings/Field Tours/Demonstrations
CAAIN Networking Reception – November 6, 2024. Winnipeg, Manitoba. https://site.pheedloop.com/event/EVEMNYQQKSKFX/home
Agriculture Enlightened – November 7, 2024. Winnipeg, Manitoba. https://emilicanada.com/community/agriculture-enlightened-4-2/
Ontario Pest Management Conference – November 7, 2024. Puslinch, Ontario https://www.ontariopmc.ca/
2024 THRIVE Global Impact Summit – November 6-7, 2024. Santa Clara, California. https://thriveagrifood.com/global-impact-summit/ 50% off code – Ontario50
Demo Day – November 14, Orchard Sprayer – High Precision Spraying Solution from Raven Industries. Suncrest, Ontario.
Ontario Greenhouse vegetable Course – Last Week in November, Online/In-person. https://ongreenhousevegetables.ca/course/#registration
Team Canada Trade Mission to Australia – Sunday, February 16 to Friday, February 21, 2025. Registration closes November 15 https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/campaign-campagne/tctm-australia_mcec-australie.aspx?lang=eng
Attendees at recent conferences, please be prepared to provide a brief update to the group.
Project Updates
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
Emergent Horticulture Opportunities Fund – https://www.vinelandresearch.com/work-with-us/emergent-horticulture-opportunities-fund/ - Open until February 2025
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 - Round 2 Intake opening Spring 2025
OCI Critical Industrial Technologies Initiative - https://www.oc-innovation.ca/programs/cit/ - Ongoing
Recording of CIT Sector Adoption: Agri-Food Challenge Statement Information Session - View recording
CAAIN Open Competition - https://caain.ca/funding-calls/2024-open-competition/ - Open Intake
Ontario Agri-Food research Initiative – Deadline December 4 for commercialization, January 13 for all other streams
Round Table
Other Items/Articles
Will Robots Take Over the Farm? - Video
Tech Funding Bump for Agricultural Robotics – Great video from our presence at the Outdoor Farm Show
Robots, Research Offer Taste of Farming’s Future in Holland Marsh
Autonomous tech is coming to farming. What will it mean for crops and workers who harvest them?
Annual agricultural robotics event shows high-tech tools - Video
Students Design High-Tech Solutions Through Farm Robotics Challenge
WUR-researcher: ‘Selective harvesting is the biggest challenge for robots’
New auto-electric robot truck reduces chemical use in vineyards by 72%
FIRA USA highlight in pictures
FarmDroid obtains over $11M to deploy its modular robot globally
New incubator Reservoir Farms to cultivate agrobotics startups