It was an occasion that paid tribute to the past, and gave hope for the future.Provincial ministers, agricultural producers and members of associated industries gathered in a building at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) in Humboldt on November 1.First, those assembled heard that PAMI will be receiving nearly $1 million in funding from the provincial government. Second, they heard PAMI speak about the top four innovations in farm technology in the past 35 years. Then, the producers and industry insiders got to provide PAMI with their ideas of what the top innovations will be in the next 35 years. It was a special field day event hosted by PAMI - an applied research, development and testing organization serving the agriculture industry which employs 80 people at their Humboldt facility - where industry representatives gathered for an open forum on innovation and the future research to be undertaken at the facility. Provincial agriculture minister Lyle Stewart was the first to take to the podium at PAMI.Stewart announced that PAMI would receive nearly $1 million in funding to help drive innovation in the agriculture industry."Innovation is at the core of Saskatchewan's agriculture industry, and fundamental to the growth of this province," Stewart said. "Organizations such as PAMI are vital to our continued competitiveness, productivity and progress to help farmers and ranchers to meet growing world demand for quality agricultural products."The funding will help PAMI continue to undertake innovative research in machinery technology. A portion of the funding will also go to PAMI's integrated Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC), which conducts beef, feed and forage research. The government's plan, noted Stewart, is to increase Saskatchewan's crop production by 10 million tonnes or 38 per cent by 2020, and increase ag exports by $5 billion or 50 per cent by 2020. The government is committed, Stewart said, to the innovation of the ag industry. The research that is done at PAMI drives innovation in the industry, Stewart noted, and contributes to a better quality of life for everyone in the province.To demonstrate that, the provincial government has increased the agriculture research budget to a record $20.4 million in the upcoming 2012-13 budget, an increase of 50 per cent since 2007.Earlier this year, it was announced that PAMI and the WBDC would receive nearly $480,000 in research project funding from the provincial government. Over the past five years, the government has provided $7.2 million in research and operational funding for PAMI and the WBDC.Government funding to PAMI, Stewart indicated, is money well spent, and he was happy to make the investment in PAMI for the long-term benefit of the agriculture industry in Saskatchewan. PAMI has been in Humboldt for almost four decades, Stewart said, "and it is still as vibrant as ever."Advancements in agriculture technology, he noted, allows the industry to grow, from feeding local communities to feeding the world. PAMI's 35 years of machinery innovation has contributed to growing Saskatchewan's agri-food exports to a record $10.2 billion in 2011, it was noted."Saskatchewan is a power house of innovation in agriculture, and it is by gathering everyone in one place, consulting producers and specialists at the source, that we can keep the research fresh and the industry in this province at the forefront of current methods and breakthroughs," said PAMI president and CEO Dave Gullacher, who was next up to the podium.Gullacher announced the "Big Four" - those innovations of the past 35 years that have contributed to building Saskatchewan's $6 billion grain and oilseed industry. "To see where you are headed, you need to know where you've been," Gullacher said. "Honouring the Big Four will give us a clearer picture of the path of modern agriculture."The Big Four, he said, and innovations among them have helped to grow the $6 billion grain and oilseed industry in Saskatchewan - a number that is going to be eclipsed if the government of Saskatchewan's plans come to fruition.Gullacher took a look at each of the Big Four, which are air drills, tractors, sprayers and combines. "These are the critical pillars of grain and oilseed production in Saskatchewan. We have evolved to the point where we can have roughly 26 million tonnes of agricultural products harvested in this province every year, all of which can be traced to the success of these tools," said Gullacher. The first of the Big Four for him, he noted, was zero-till and direct seeding technologies and their impact. Saskatchewan in particular produces the very best dry land seeding equipment in the world, no question, Gullacher said. Work on seeding equipment began in the 1970s and has been going full bore from then until today, he said.Second, he listed tractors. The changes in size, power, traction, emissions, and navigation on tractors has changed hugely in the last 35 years, he noted. Third were spray applicators. Pesticides and the genetic engineering of crops have come together in Saskatchewan, he said, and have made a huge contribution to what happens here. PAMI has had a role in spray applicators in the past, he noted, and are watching them very closely. "They will be a key pillar going forward, and we want to make sure we're here to help," Gullacher said. Fourth of the Big Four were combines, which have grown and changed in size, navigation, control and effectiveness. "The combines of today are four times the size in terms of harvesting rate than those PAMI was testing in the '70s," said Gullacher. They also lose only about half the grain as the machines in the 1970s did. "There have been a lot of advancements to the ancient process of reaping, threshing and winnowing," Gullacher said of the past 30 years.PAMI has played a central role in the development of the harvester, he noted. Their crews have been around the world, testing machines, to help make the machines universal, as they must be, Gullacher feels. The team at PAMI has had a hand in shaping the combine harvester in North America, he noted, and those that are going to be used here in the future."Of course, there has been tremendous innovation in these technologies over the decades. We want to trace that and look ahead to where they will be headed in the next 35 years," Gullacher said of the Big Four, referring to the session held with producers and other stakeholders after the announcements, where they focused on the future of farming and farm machinery."The provincial government's Saskatchewan Plan for Growth sets a goal of adding $10 million tonnes of crop production by 2020," Gullacher said. "To get there, we've got to develop bigger and more efficient machines, although not fundamentally different ones. "We are not looking to reinvent the wheel, just to improve it."Gullacher acknowledged that machinery technology alone would not meet the province's agriculture goals. "There is also much that will have to be done on the crop science side, but implements will assist by helping us efficiently produce a variety of crops, increase production levels per acre and increase the speed of seeding and harvest."If Saskatchewan is going to meet the government's challenge of feeding a greater population in the world, machinery is going to have to become bigger, faster and smarter to rise to the challenge of that increased production the government wants by 2020. "We really need to roll up our sleeves and do our part in feeding an increasingly hungry world," Gullacher noted. In the focus group session which included roughly 30 agricultural leaders, they brainstormed the future direction of farm technology. Those present included representatives from major producer groups, as well as manufacturers and value-added processors. "PAMI is here to deliver practical results for the agriculture industry," Gullacher told the group. "Sessions like this are essential to ensure that our research is focused on producing the new technologies farmers want and need."Forum participants put forward dozens of suggestions under the topics of crop characteristics, rural population challenges, genetically modified crops, and labour and technologies.Some of the key suggestions included: Smarter Machines - increasing robotics in farm machinery so that 24/7 harvesting is possible with fewer workers. However, participants did not go so far as to endorse entirely driverless machinery. Smarter Crops - researching new and improved varieties of high-margin crops, and using genetic engineering to develop crops that provide for each other, such as one crop providing readily available nutrients or pesticides for another crop coming next in the rotation. Smarter first, before Bigger - building farm equipment that is easier to operate and maintain while continuing to improve efficiency. Consumer is King - ensuring producers understand and respond nimbly to what consumers want. Filtering Information Overload - ensuring that farmers have access to training and unbiased advice to deal with the increasing complexity of the industry. This should include providing high quality and standardized skills training for the emerging workforce of professional farm machinery operators. Sustainable Farming - lowering the environmental impact of farming and ensuring that crop varieties are viable in the long-term, even under changing climatic conditions."This isn't just a wish-list for the agriculture industry. These research goals will define a major part of the future of Saskatchewan and the world. Premier Wall's goal of increasing Saskatchewan's agricultural production by 10 million tonnes by 2020 makes it all the more essential that we develop new and better ways to grow and harvest crops. On top of that, we live in an increasingly hungry world where Saskatchewan will bear an ever-larger responsibility as a food producer," said Gullacher.
