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Red Deer Ag Innovator joins leading Ag company DOT Technology Corp

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4 minute read

From DOT Technology Corp.

Agri-Trend founder to bridge farming and technology gap and lead large-scale global commercialization of autonomous Dot Power Platform for agriculture.

DOT Power Platform

EMERALD PARK, SASK.

Dot owner and founder Norbert Beaujot is pleased to announce the addition of agricultural technology expert Robert Saik to the Dot Technology Corp. leadership team. As Chief Executive Officer of Dot Ready Retail (DRR), Saik will work with farmers in Canada and globally to establish a retail and distribution system to support autonomous farming.

“Given Rob’s vast experience in the agriculture industry and his record as an agri-business thought leader, he brings a unique set of skills to help grow the Dot Power Platform by connecting agronomics with data and robotics.” said Beaujot. “The way producers buy farm equipment has evolved. His mandate is to work with farmers to better understand their decision making when it comes to purchasing new equipment and how they want to be supported in today’s high technological agricultural market.”

Robert, a veteran entrepreneur and Distinguished Agrologist has founded many agricultural ventures. Most recently he completed the sale of Agri-Trend and Agri-Data to Trimble. He is passionate about farming with an interest in an operation in Uganda and facilitates the PowerFARM peer group for farmers. As consultant, speaker, author, filmmaker and outspoken advocate for agriculture, Robert always has had his eye to the future of farming. He has published over 50 articles on crop agronomics and is a thought leader on the integration of technology in crop production. His book, The Agriculture Manifesto was recognized as a “Best of Amazon Book” and in 2014, he was awarded the Canadian Agri-Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association. Last fall it was announced that the Dot Power Platform would be available for sale in select regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta throughout 2019. To prepare market demand of Dot and Dot Ready Implements, Saik will lead DRR to help bridge the farming and technology gap for new generations of farmers.

“Autonomous farming through the Dot Power Platform opens up an opportunity to engage a whole new generation in farming. With labour being a major constraint on many farms, the evolution to autonomous operations makes sense and will bring a renewed interest from young people looking to pursue careers in agriculture,” Saik explained. “As we develop a global retail network for Dot, we are looking to bring together technology with people to create a new type of sustainable and profitable arable farming.”

Standardized autonomous ‘power units’ have the ability to complete limitless tasks for farmers while freeing their time for higher level tasks. The Dot Power Platform is a mobile diesel-powered platform designed to handle a large variety of implements commonly used in agriculture, mining and construction. Working for farmers, Dot completes tasks autonomously and enables farmers to spend more of their time focusing on the overall operation of their farms.

About Dot Technology Corp.
Dot Technology Corp, established in 2017, is a technology company that manufacturers Dot, a patented autonomous diesel-powered platform, in Saskatchewan.

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Agriculture

It’s time to end supply management

Published on

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Ian Madsen

Ending Canada’s dairy supply management system would lower costs, boost exports, and create greater economic opportunities.

The Trump administration’s trade warfare is not all bad. Aside from spurring overdue interprovincial trade barrier elimination and the removal of obstacles to energy corridors, it has also spotlighted Canada’s dairy supply management system.

The existing marketing board structure is a major hindrance to Canada’s efforts to increase non-U.S. trade and improve its dismal productivity growth rate—crucial to reviving stagnant living standards. Ending it would lower consumer costs, make dairy farming more dynamic, innovative and export-oriented, and create opportunities for overseas trade deals.

Politicians sold supply management to Canadians to ensure affordable milk and dairy products for consumers without costing taxpayers anything—while avoiding unsightly dumping surplus milk or sudden price spikes. While the government has not paid dairy farmers directly, consumers have paid more at the supermarket than their U.S. neighbours for decades.

An October 2023 C.D. Howe Institute analysis showed that, over five years, the Canadian price for four litres of partly skimmed milk generally exceeded the U.S. price (converted to Canadian dollars) by more than a dollar, sometimes significantly more, and rarely less.

A 2014 study conducted by the University of Manitoba, published in 2015, found that lower-income households bore an extra burden of 2.3 per cent of their income above the estimated cost for free-market-determined dairy and poultry products (i.e., vs. non-supply management), amounting to $339 in 2014 dollars ($435 in current dollars). Higher-income households paid an additional 0.5 per cent of their income, or $554 annually in 2014 dollars ($712 today).

One of the pillars of the current system is production control, enforced by production quotas for every dairy farm. These quotas only gradually rise annually, despite abundant production capacity. As a result, millions of litres of milk are dumped in some years, according to a 2022 article by the Montreal Economic Institute.

Beyond production control, minimum price enforcement further entrenches inefficiency. Prices are set based on estimated production costs rather than market forces, keeping consumer costs high and limiting competition.

Import restrictions are the final pillar. They ensure foreign producers do not undercut domestic ones. Jaime Castaneda, executive vice-president of the U.S. National Milk Producers Federation, complained that the official 2.86 per cent non-tariffed Canadian import limit was not reached due to non-tariff barriers. Canadian tariffs of over 250 per cent apply to imports exceeding quotas from the European Union, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA).

Dairy import protection obstructs efforts to reach more trade deals. Defending this system forces Canada to extend protection to foreign partners’ favoured industries. Affected sectors include several where Canada is competitive, such as machinery and devices, chemicals and plastics, and pharmaceuticals and medical products. This impedes efforts to increase non-U.S. exports of goods and services. Diverse and growing overseas exports are essential to reducing vulnerability to hostile U.S. trade policy.

It may require paying dairy farmers several billion dollars to transition from supply management—though this cartel-determined “market” value is dubious, as the current inflation-adjusted book value is much lower—but the cost to consumers and the economy is greater. New Zealand successfully evolved from a similar import-protected dairy industry into a vast global exporter. Canada must transform to excel. The current system limits Canada’s freedom to find greener pastures.

Ian Madsen is the Senior Policy Analyst at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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Agriculture

Grain farmers warn Canadians that retaliatory tariffs against Trump, US will cause food prices to soar

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

 

One of Canada’s prominent agricultural advocacy groups warned that should the federal Liberal government impose counter-tariffs on the United States, it could make growing food more expensive and would be a nightmare for Canadian farmers and consumers.

According to Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) executive director Kyle Larkin, the cost of phosphate fertilizer, which Canada does not make, would shoot up should the Mark Carney Liberal government enact counter-tariffs to U.S. President Donald Trump’s.

Larkin said recently that there is no “domestic phosphate production here (in Canada), so we rely on imports, and the United States is our major supplier.”

“A 25% tariff on phosphate fertilizer definitely would have an impact on grain farmers,” he added.

According to Statistics Canada, from 2018 to 2023, Canada imported about 4.12 million tonnes of fertilizer from the United States. This amount included 1.46 million tonnes of monoammonium phosphates (MAP) as well as 92,027 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP).

Also imported were 937,000 tonnes of urea, 310,158 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, and 518,232 tonnes of needed fertilizers that have both nitrogen and phosphorus.

According to Larkin, although most farmers have purchased their fertilizer for 2025, they would be in for a rough 2026 should the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports by the U.S. still stand.

Larkin noted how Canadian farmers are already facing “sky-high input costs and increased government regulations and taxation.”

He said the potential “tariff on fertilizer is a massive concern.”

Trump has routinely cited Canada’s lack of action on drug trafficking and border security as the main reasons for his punishing tariffs.

About three weeks ago, Trump announced he was giving Mexico and Canada a 30-day reprieve on 25 percent export tariffs for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

However, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, despite the reprieve from Trump, later threatened to impose a 25 percent electricity surcharge on three American states. Ford, however, quickly stopped his planned electricity surcharge after Trump threatened a sharp increase on Canadian steel and aluminum in response to his threats.

As it stands, Canada has in place a 25 percent counter tariff on some $30 billion of U.S. goods.

It is not yet clear how new Prime Minister Mark Carney will respond to Trump’s tariffs. However, he may announce something after he calls the next election, which he is expected to do March 23.

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