Precision Agriculture in Canada 2019: Precision Agriculture Dealership Services Surveys

In order to assess the overall adoption of precision agriculture technologies in Canada, members of the Ontario Agri Business Association (OABA) or the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) were surveyed on their own use and offerings of precision agriculture technologies and services as well their perception of farmers use of these technologies. There is a significant regional difference in the role that custom application services play in the adoption of precision agriculture technologies. In Ontario dealerships commonly custom apply crop inputs on behalf of the farmer. Guidance systems and observational technologies are commonly employed by dealerships in Ontario to apply crop inputs bought by farmers. in the Prairie provinces, farmers, and not dealerships, apply the purchased inputs. There is potential for future adoption of precision agriculture technologies for both dealerships and farmers, however barriers do exist. These barriers largely relate to the cost of the precision agriculture and the value propositions of these services. As both dealers and farmers become more educated about the benefits of precision agriculture and the costs associated with precision agriculture fall, the overall adoption of precision agriculture will increase.