Fred Steele
Innovation is a medium-sized word with a big meaning. It is a word thrown around to describe almost everything today, in almost every field of endeavour. Farming has been innovating and getting more efficient for hundreds of years. As innovation is the word to help growers move forward and change, but what needs to change first? There are so many possibilities.
First in the field we have weather stations that will guide us in our spray and water programs. The volumes of paper required for spray records and other data, and weather degree days that tell us when pests emerge, will in future all be on the computer, not on paper. Farmers will receive computer generated updates relevant to their farm - you will get an email or a text alert when it is safe for staff to re-enter a field, when to spray, and what products are compatible in the sprayer, and how not to spray but use other options. This is just for starters.
There is a new hand held unit that can tell a farmer when the fruit is ready to pick, no more guess work. In the field, new sprayers use sensors to cut the spray off in the spaces so only trees are sprayed. There are new types of nozzles that inject an air bubble into each droplet, making it into a miniature balloon waiting to explode on contact. This means more efficient application and less spray drift.
Combine that with new innovations in irrigation methods over the past twenty years and BC farmers have succeeded in achieving better control of their crop (i.e. higher quality and more consistent) with less water.
BC farmers were pioneers in such area-wide programs as in the SIR; the Sterile Insect Release Program. It is now recognized around the world. Now it is being used as a foundation for further innovation - we have used it to monitor new pests and to distribute pheromones. Now SIR is innovating, looking at using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for moth distribution. SIR led the way to area wide control programs such as starling control, wood chipping instead of burning.
Research is the bedrock of innovation. The BCFGA has participated in national research programs to determine more hardier rootstocks for planting, better storage regimes, and how weather impacts fruit storage, so that we can select the best fruit for long-term storage.
Innovation needs to be managed and the innovator rewarded, to encourage new innovations. We have become a world leader in terms of developing intellectual property rights to manage new varieties, providing a benefit to farmers and owners of the variety.
There are new methods of harvesting and preparing the trees for the annual harvest. Nurseries may soon be able to produce more virus-free stock faster, if a new research project proves successful.
Pruning, and thinning used to be labour intensive, with people using ladders. Elevated platforms may seem old school, but innovation is making these platforms more useful on the farm. Coming soon is a new platform concept that will feature six workers on each side as the platform, steered by GPS, makes its way down the panel. This way the top, middle and lower parts of the tree will be done in one pass. These machines are adjustable for row widths to accommodate high density planting. The beauty of this machine is, it can be used for picking as well. I was reading an article a few weeks ago claiming robotic pickers will be part of the industry within five years.
Innovation comes in many forms, both high and low tech. At the farm level mechanization is allowing farms to get bigger and more efficient, and the result will be fewer farmers and larger farms.
Now let us look at the technology at the plant level. A key innovation decades ago was Controlled Atmosphere Storage. We were able to store new varieties as long or longer than the lower quality ‘keepers’. In the old days ammonia was the prime ingredient to transport coolant from the central refrigeration plant to the storage rooms where it was required. CA required a steam engineer on duty at all times. In case of a leak, the plant and neighbouring properties were evacuated. Now, a salt brine solution is the coolant between the refrigeration unit and the storage room. If the system leaks, all that is required is a bucket and a mop.
The new cherry and apple lines feature camera monitors with incredible image processing power for sorting out defects, sizing and grading the fruit. The speed of the lines is incredibly fast, and speed continues to increase.
There is enough innovation in the tree fruit sector, let alone agriculture, to write a book. This article is but a sample of our industry’s innovation.
Innovation is about change, and change starts with our attitudes and methods of farming. In the last five years how significant is the mode of change? There is a wave of optimism due to farm gate sales increasing by 50 percent between 2011 and 2016. For the public this industry is a quarter billion dollars more valuable than it was five years ago. Innovation plus optimism has equaled a new generation of growers, which will in turn accelerate the speed of innovation.