economic development and the cloud: the alberta advantage -- chris perry, grow the energy circle
DESCRIPTION
Chris Perry, an Alberta potato farmer, presented these slides as part of the Cybera Summit 2011 session entitled, Economic Development and the Cloud: The Alberta Advantage. To learn more about this event or to watch videos archives of this and the other sessions, visit http://www.cybera.ca/summit2011/mediaTRANSCRIPT
Cybera Summit 2011 -‐ Banff
A Spud Farmer… Its true:
History of Farming now here’s something you didn’t think you were coming to Banff to hear…
What does ICT Cloud compuCng and the Neolithic Farming RevoluCon (end of the stone age) 10,000 years ago have in common?
FerCle Crescent
Farming RevoluCon – 8000 BC in the FerCle Crescent and other areas Birth of civilizaCon and abundant populaCons For the first Cme in Human history people were “rich” Allowed a lifestyle change that brought about the luxury of free Cme, -‐ beginning of wriCng and art and somewhere down the road…
cloud compuCng
They are new cu8ng edge technology of their ;me…
Important factors of the Farming RevoluCon Period
Producing enough food to support a healthy community, survival
Security of food supplies from raiding neighbors – began civilizaCon and hierarchies
Rise and fall of Empires based on producCvity of land, water, ferClity and the cycle of Mother Nature (MNS)
So begins a quest for food producCon sustainability
and a required increase in yield / acre to support the growing populaCon
Game changing events of agriculture
irriga9on
Nutrient addi9on
Mid 1800’s Justus von Liebig
“law of the minimum”
Haber – Bosch Feeding 1/3 to ½
Of the populaCon today
Industrial RevoluCon Early 1900’s
Farming Revolu9on 8000BC
Green RevoluCon 1940-‐70: high yielding varieCes, distribuCon of ferClizer and pesCcides
Yield
Time
GMO
ART
ART
ART
ART
Cyber Infrastructure
Reality Today
Farming’s Sustainable areas: 1. Climate, Land and water 2. Community, communicaCon 3. DistribuCon of goods, and inputs 4. Energy security 5. Economics
Important factors of the Farming RevoluCon Period TODAY
Producing enough food to support a healthy community Planet
Security of food supplies – Food Safety
Rise and fall of Empires PopulaCon based on producCvity of land, water, ferClity and the cycle of Mother Nature
(MNS)
And so begins conCnues a quest for food producCon sustainability -‐ indeed an increase in
yield / acre
How can Cyber Infrastructure Help?
1. Best Management PracCces – with Knowledge of Today
2. Food safety, and real Cme public communicaCon
3. Precision Agriculture dialed up – this is not new The implementaCon of yesterdays ideas, with technology, data analysis and management capacity of today Empathy and a Desire to
feed the world!
Can we together help create Alberta’s new champion
Best Management PracCce
What we are doing with technology available today
Built in Alberta…
Best Management PracCce What we are doing with technology available today
What we are doing…
Grow, Live, Be the Change
hhp://www.alltech.com/FutureOfFarming/default.aspx#/?buildingIndex=0
2. Food safety, food producCon communicaCon
record keeping, regulaCon and traceability stewardship
Real Cme seamless communicaCon With variable rate technology, new regulaCon
and record keeping regulaCon, there is a dire need for advanced technical help in the agricultural field
CollaboraCon necessary, tecconnect center in Lethbridge a superb example of iniCaCng the collaboraCon required
3. Precision Agriculture: Incredible PotenCal to increase the
Yield / Acre!
The technology available today Where it can take us tomorrow
Field Variability: Significance…
Variable Rate Technology
Infra Red and other sensor technology from satellites
Understanding an IrrigaCon Pivot
Variable Rate IrrigaCon GIS and recipe referenced
A Potato Field 2010: Planted acres: 128
operaConal inputs $2222/ac Harvested acres: 80
Potato Fields 2011: Planted Acres: 1280
Harvested: 1097 (87%) same inputs
Potato Fields 2010: Planted Acres: 1300 Harvested: 998 (82%)
same inputs
Beher Potato Fields – What it needs to look like!
Yield Sept 17th Picture late June Picture late July
Yield esCmate
This field: ~ 20% -‐ 20 t/ac or more
~60% -‐ 16-‐19t/ac ~20% -‐ <16t/ac
In short this means we can either increase the yield on 80% of the field
with Precision ag technology, or reduce inputs accordingly.
What we can do tomorrow, the applicaCons… Tech support – within Alberta we have an incredible opportunity
Unmanned Aircraq, real data, real Cme, every day, real recipe’s real ROI in Alberta
Integrated data hub, replicable agricultural and demographic W2E powered
Smart Energy Grid, ship data, not power -‐ Distributed
Link the public with their food, real Cme, real seamless
BE a Real sustainable smart system, closed biosphere aware – We are feeding the world
Data management
Hub
ICT link Precision AG
GreenStar Network
Water and Environmental Hub
AB ARD open data Center network
OpCc Fiber
Cloud-‐Enabled Space Weather Modeling and Data AssimilaCon Plarorm
$
Yes I agree, Change happens. Another reason the stone age ended was
because humans discovered farming…
let us not forget…
Tweet: "The stone age didn't
end because we ran out of stone." Change
happens ready or not
Thanks!
The OPPORTUNITY Collabora'on with all the right people
are in this room to champion the Alberta / Canada Advantage, be a part of it
the technology exper9se and cyber infrastructure presence The Value-‐add and true example of technology WOW The Rural Development and distributed wealth advocate The farmer with a need, that recognizes the technology can help us do
be^er, and the technology people that recognize we can help them to achieve their goals with a real applica9on today that helps build and create a network required for tomorrow, with sustainable ROI all the way through!
Fantas9c R&D presence – AB innovates, the refreshed and inspired new provincial leadership, the universi9es and colleges, the brilliant youth
Together Let’s make it happen!
Why make this happen?
Grow, Live,
Be the Change