source: Farm and Food Report
It sounds like the kind of event that is all too rare these days — a simple forum aiming to identify some of the solutions that could make all the difference in the way agricultural producers operate on the farm.
The Partnerships in Agriculture Workshop on March 12 in Regina certainly seems like a very enticing proposal.
Doug Wagner is an electrical engineer and Senior Engineer-in-Residence at the University of Regina.
“We are inviting Saskatchewan producers — whether they are dryland farmers, livestock producers, feedlot operators or anybody involved in the industry — to come spend the day with us to help us gather information on some of the major challenges that need to be addressed in their workplace.”
Exploring these issues with a view to the future, especially in light of emerging factors like climate change, transportation needs and input management, will be front and centre, according to Wagner.
“In essence, we will ask these folks what problem they see on their farm today that could be solved through any kind of a device or mechanism. It could have something to do with the preservation of water resources, or even be something that automatically informs ranchers that one of their cows is going into labour.”
The idea is to compile an inventory of ideas that could be suitable as university research projects students could engage in.
“Fuel efficiency in farm machinery is an increasing concern. Producers can buy new tractors that are more fuel efficient, but what if we could come up with a way to make old tractors more fuel efficient?”
Wagner explains how educational institutions like universities have a real responsibility to work on concrete issues. “Nobody is in a better position to guide us in doing this than the main beneficiaries of the research we conduct.”
The workshop will split participants into small groups. By listening to and understanding the issues — current and projected — that are faced by the agricultural community, the Faculty of Engineering hopes to identify key areas where it can assist agribusiness activities in the province.
“By donating time to the workshop, agricultural producers have the opportunity to guide future initiatives in graduate, undergraduate and faculty work. We are hoping to work collaboratively with other institutions. At the University of Regina, we specialize in systems engineering around electronics, environmental, industrial, software and petroleum systems. We hope to draw into all our partners’ areas of interest through this exercise.”
The proceedings of the workshop are public. Participation is free. To register, contact the U. of R. Faculty of Engineering at (306) 585-4666 or send an email to: agshop@uregina.ca
For more information, contact:
Doug Wagner
University of Regina
(306) 585-4666
It sounds like the kind of event that is all too rare these days — a simple forum aiming to identify some of the solutions that could make all the difference in the way agricultural producers operate on the farm.
The Partnerships in Agriculture Workshop on March 12 in Regina certainly seems like a very enticing proposal.
Doug Wagner is an electrical engineer and Senior Engineer-in-Residence at the University of Regina.
“We are inviting Saskatchewan producers — whether they are dryland farmers, livestock producers, feedlot operators or anybody involved in the industry — to come spend the day with us to help us gather information on some of the major challenges that need to be addressed in their workplace.”
Exploring these issues with a view to the future, especially in light of emerging factors like climate change, transportation needs and input management, will be front and centre, according to Wagner.
“In essence, we will ask these folks what problem they see on their farm today that could be solved through any kind of a device or mechanism. It could have something to do with the preservation of water resources, or even be something that automatically informs ranchers that one of their cows is going into labour.”
The idea is to compile an inventory of ideas that could be suitable as university research projects students could engage in.
“Fuel efficiency in farm machinery is an increasing concern. Producers can buy new tractors that are more fuel efficient, but what if we could come up with a way to make old tractors more fuel efficient?”
Wagner explains how educational institutions like universities have a real responsibility to work on concrete issues. “Nobody is in a better position to guide us in doing this than the main beneficiaries of the research we conduct.”
The workshop will split participants into small groups. By listening to and understanding the issues — current and projected — that are faced by the agricultural community, the Faculty of Engineering hopes to identify key areas where it can assist agribusiness activities in the province.
“By donating time to the workshop, agricultural producers have the opportunity to guide future initiatives in graduate, undergraduate and faculty work. We are hoping to work collaboratively with other institutions. At the University of Regina, we specialize in systems engineering around electronics, environmental, industrial, software and petroleum systems. We hope to draw into all our partners’ areas of interest through this exercise.”
The proceedings of the workshop are public. Participation is free. To register, contact the U. of R. Faculty of Engineering at (306) 585-4666 or send an email to: agshop@uregina.ca
For more information, contact:
Doug Wagner
University of Regina
(306) 585-4666
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