So this past week I went to the Ag In Motion ag trade show just North of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It was my first time there, and by far the farthest North I had ever been. It's about 200 miles North from the border with Montana. This is the 3rd Ag In Motion show and there were over 400 exhibitors. And AgroLiquid is one of those. Here are Western Canada SAM John Adams from Alberta and agronomist Dan Peterson at the always inviting AgroLiquid booth. (Is John tall or is Dan short?)
I must say that I was impressed by the many Canadian ag companies, particularly equipment and seed, that sell just in Canada. Well there is a lot of farmland there for sure. Here are Dan and Retail Partner Kellen Huber looking at a wheat drill from Seed Master. Selling Liquid here is a challenge as dry fertilizer dominates equipment application. But check back in the future after AgroLiquid makes itself better known.
Here was a prototype demonstration of unmanned equipment operation. Well there is a guy on the ground with the control. But this is a DOT Technology power platform. The "U" shaped gray DOT machine connects with a variety of application equipment and operates without a driver. Here is is with a drill. The wheels rotate for planting.
Then it drops the drill and picks up a seed tender to go fill a drill someplace. It is a prototype, but impressive. I guess this is because good help is hard to find. So you could run a drill and a tender and plant with a joystick control. Sounds crazy, but I remember how crazy yield monitors sounded back in the early 90's.
There were lot's of seed plots. Spring wheat, canola, peas and lentils were the most common. And all from Canadian seed companies.
So here was something new for me. Have you ever had, or even heard of Saskatoon Berry Pie? Well I hadn't. The lunch place was across from our tent, and while standing in line I asked a couple about the pie on the menu. They said it was a traditional Canadian berry and I had to try it. Well I didn't want to be rude, so I did. It looks like a blueberry, but tastes much sweeter. I like.
Surely you've listened to Real Ag Radio. It comes on right after Ag PhD radio and covers Canadian Agriculture. Well they set up in our booth on Tuesday for a series of interviews from several important show attendees. I was happy to be one of them and be interviewed by host Shaun Haney. But this was Canada where the official languages are English and French, and wouldn't you know that it was French Day. Fortunately I am a fast learner. Hopefully you were listening to get the latest Agro scoop.
There was plenty to see. One of the highlights was the tillage demo.
Remember the Big Bud tractor? Of course you do. This one is from 1982 and is still in service pulling a big wheat drill. The guy who runs it brought it back home from England several years ago and put it to work.
