Whether he’s in a field with his truck, tractor or combine, if Tom Senko has some spare time, he’s usually on his iPhone, which has become an essential part of farming, especially this summer during the pandemic.
With the device in his hand, the 50-year-old farmer from Humboldt, Sask, monitors the moisture and temperature of his fields, spends time marketing his crops to buyers, and keeps an eye on advance weather information, so he knows which parts of his land may receive rain and how much.
The pandemic has sped up the adoption of technology in the agricultural industry as farmers spend more time with digital tools and programs and less time having face-to-face meetings.
Just as most people have turned to online shopping this year because of the pandemic lockdown and spent much more of their work day on video calls, the same trends are happening on the farm.
Senko, who grows grain and oilseeds on about 4,000 hectares, ordered much of his seed and other supplies online this year, for the first time, and he also started using Zoom and other video conferencing programs to communicate with experts if he has a problem with a particular weed or pest.
Senko collects a variety of data about his crops, including yield trends, water use, and the temperature and humidity levels of his fields. (Don Somers/CBC News)
“I was really hesitant at first,” Senko said about video calling. “I thought, ‘Oh this is going to be a train wreck,’ but it’s been really good. I haven’t been Zoom-bombed yet.”
‘Complicated business’
Digital technology has played a growing role in agriculture in recent years, from using data to monitor the health of livestock to employing mobile apps to control the irrigation of fields or the temperature of a barn, among many examples.
Nutrien makes the kind of software used by farmers. The Calgary-based international fertilizer company says it has seen a noticeable rise in uptake of its data collection tools designed for farmers, such as tracking the amount of water being consumed on a farm or how much carbon is being emitted and how much sequestered.
“Farmers need help to make a lot of decisions. This is a very complicated business, especially trying to balance productivity of their land and climate change,” said Nutrien chief executive Chuck Magro.
A bucket of freshly harvested grain on Senko’s farm. (Don Somers/CBC News)
Nutrien set a goal at the beginning of the year to reach $500 million in online sales in 2020, but easily blew through that target a few months into the pandemic. Beyond e-commerce, Magro says, the digital tools can improve efficiency and sustainability in the industry.
“It’s a great set of tools that I think are very timely and very important, because we have to work through how agriculture is going to contribute to improving climate change.”
The pandemic has sped up the industry’s transition, though it hasn’t been without challenges. Access to high-speed internet is still unreliable in some parts of rural Canada, and the problem has been more apparent than ever this year.
“This year, it made you realize how important the internet is,” said Greg Stamp, a seed farmer in Enchant, Alta., about 200 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
“Our rural internet just can’t keep up. It gets bogged down and sometimes is just unusable. We definitely noticed that. It’s a weakness in rural infrastructure.”
WATCH | Innovation on the farm is more than just online shopping:
Nutrien CEO Chuck Magro says more farmers are buying product online because of the pandemic and they are also using more digital programs do improve efficiency and sustainability on the farm. 1:20
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
