Canada Alberta Innovative Agriculture Technologies
The “Armchair Rancher” is a smart-device platform designed to integrate machine learning based on mass data collection to help ranchers make informed business decisions. This three-year Armchair Ranching project is one of eight innovative agriculture programs approved in the Smart Agriculture and Food Digitization and Automation Challenge (SAFDAC) opportunity to introduce the province to sustainable farming initiatives. This initiative reflects the Albertan agri-food industry’s shift towards developing and applying innovative technologies. The Armchair Ranching project is a pioneer in helping ranchers streamline operations and cut losses. It is supported through Alberta Innovates and Beefbooster, with a collective funding of up to CAD$3 million.
Dr. David Wishart – the project’s lead researcher from Univesity of Alberta’s Faculty of Agriculture, said that this “digital assistant” could help identify trends in everything from the weather to beef prices, with future features spanning to include risk scenario analysis global market projections. The Armchair Rancher relies on mass historical data collection and its systematic modeling framework to map visualizable trends that can aid ranchers in anticipating efficient resource uses for cattle-raising purposes. Dr. Wishart speculates that such requirements may encourage increased information sharing within the ranching industry regarding herd genetics, feedlots, and other managerial economics to improve the app’s A.I. learning, benefiting other academics and government agencies.
There is a high growth potential for the Armchair Ranching project and Alberta’s agri-food industry. As of today, the sector employs more than 70,000 Albertans, with expectations that the market size for smart agriculture to grow up to US$15 billion by 2025, said Laura Kilcrease, the CEO of Alberta Innovates.
For U.S. Companies interested in supporting the Armchair Ranching project and Alberta’s SAFDAC programs, please contact Commercial Specialist Connie Haider