Durham Farm Connections 2024 Precision Agriculture Day

The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) will partner with Durham Farm Connections for its Precision Agriculture Day, which will be held on Tuesday, May 28th, at Gordon Barrie and Sons, Bowmanville. The day’s focus will be on grain farming and horticulture.

Precision agriculture uses technology such as GPS guidance, drones, sensors, soil sampling and precision machinery to grow crops efficiently. It helps farmers make decisions about their crops based on the conditions of their fields.

Precision agriculture uses data to manage land. The data farmers can now acquire about their fields allows them to determine the exact placement of seeds and pesticides required to grow crops, which helps improve operation productivity, reduce waste, and improve environmental sustainability.

High school students from across Durham Region will participate in a one-day session to better understand the in-demand occupations in this important agriculture subsector in Durham and learn the education and employment pathways through hands-on participation and presentations. The students will be in grade 11 or 12 and participating in either Environmental Science, Information Communication Technology, or Trades programs.

Students will be divided into groups and rotated through stations, which include:

  • Soybean planting demonstration and discussion
  • Fertilizer application demonstration and discussion
  • GPS Simulator
  • Agriculture Careers Speaker
  • Apple Orchard
  • Drone
  • Ag Robotics

The students will leave the event with a better understanding of how technology is applied in agriculture and food production, the existing career opportunities, and how precision agriculture practices improve farm sustainability (environmental, economic, and social sustainability). Most students will have limited or no previous exposure to agriculture.

Four videos on Precision Agriculture Technology were uploaded on the Durham Farm Connections YouTube channel to support learning. The videos highlight Planting, fertilizer application, drones, and robotics technology. Find the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ3-Qk5X6N6dZhuQo5WrxaA