Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Developing a sustainable agri-food system is a pressing challenge as we must meet the needs of a growing global population while safeguarding the environment. While traditional practices have led to habitat reduction, soil degradation, air and water pollution, and vulnerability to our climate, data-driven smart agricultural practices have shown promise to address these challenges and increase agri-food productivity and resilience. Digital Agriculture or Precision Agriculture utilizes site-specific input management to optimize resource use and environmental impact, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of soil spatial variability. Unlike cost- and resource-expensive traditional measurement methods, sensor-driven measurements are quicker, more affordable, and spatially explicit and can generate large datasets for informed decision-making. Thus, integrated soil sensing and digital soil mapping hold promise for characterizing soil variability, optimizing soil management, and enhancing crop production. The proposed program aims to utilize, modify, and develop new digital tools such as sensors to address traditional data collection challenges and integrate sensor-collected data with conventional crop production practices to optimize resource use and decarbonize our production system for improved economy and sustainability. The proposed research program comprises eight objectives, encompassing field experiments, laboratory analyses, data processing, modeling, and tool development. Activities include efficient soil data collection, sensor data integration, processing and extracting value from the data, using data to improve agricultural decision-making, and developing decision support tools. Established connections with growers will be used to set up on-farm experiments for enhanced adoption of the outcomes and available and proposed (CFI) infrastructures will ensure the success of the project. The anticipated contributions include improved agricultural productivity, reduced environmental impact, and enhanced soil management. The research aligns with the institution's strategic research plan and is guided by an innovative framework encompassing data collection, analysis, and execution. Engagement with research users and communication of results will drive the practical implementation of research outcomes. The program aims to train 20 HQPs and gender equity, diversity, and inclusion will be driving principals in each mentoring phase.