Agriculture
Red Deer Ag Innovator joins leading Ag company DOT Technology Corp

From DOT Technology Corp.
Agri-Trend founder to bridge farming and technology gap and lead large-scale global commercialization of autonomous Dot Power Platform for agriculture.

DOT Power Platform
EMERALD PARK, SASK.
Dot owner and founder Norbert Beaujot is pleased to announce the addition of agricultural technology expert Robert Saik to the Dot Technology Corp. leadership team. As Chief Executive Officer of Dot Ready Retail (DRR), Saik will work with farmers in Canada and globally to establish a retail and distribution system to support autonomous farming.
“Given Rob’s vast experience in the agriculture industry and his record as an agri-business thought leader, he brings a unique set of skills to help grow the Dot Power Platform by connecting agronomics with data and robotics.” said Beaujot. “The way producers buy farm equipment has evolved. His mandate is to work with farmers to better understand their decision making when it comes to purchasing new equipment and how they want to be supported in today’s high technological agricultural market.”
Robert, a veteran entrepreneur and Distinguished Agrologist has founded many agricultural ventures. Most recently he completed the sale of Agri-Trend and Agri-Data to Trimble. He is passionate about farming with an interest in an operation in Uganda and facilitates the PowerFARM peer group for farmers. As consultant, speaker, author, filmmaker and outspoken advocate for agriculture, Robert always has had his eye to the future of farming. He has published over 50 articles on crop agronomics and is a thought leader on the integration of technology in crop production. His book, The Agriculture Manifesto was recognized as a “Best of Amazon Book” and in 2014, he was awarded the Canadian Agri-Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association. Last fall it was announced that the Dot Power Platform would be available for sale in select regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta throughout 2019. To prepare market demand of Dot and Dot Ready Implements, Saik will lead DRR to help bridge the farming and technology gap for new generations of farmers.
“Autonomous farming through the Dot Power Platform opens up an opportunity to engage a whole new generation in farming. With labour being a major constraint on many farms, the evolution to autonomous operations makes sense and will bring a renewed interest from young people looking to pursue careers in agriculture,” Saik explained. “As we develop a global retail network for Dot, we are looking to bring together technology with people to create a new type of sustainable and profitable arable farming.”
Standardized autonomous ‘power units’ have the ability to complete limitless tasks for farmers while freeing their time for higher level tasks. The Dot Power Platform is a mobile diesel-powered platform designed to handle a large variety of implements commonly used in agriculture, mining and construction. Working for farmers, Dot completes tasks autonomously and enables farmers to spend more of their time focusing on the overall operation of their farms.
About Dot Technology Corp.
Dot Technology Corp, established in 2017, is a technology company that manufacturers Dot, a patented autonomous diesel-powered platform, in Saskatchewan.
Agriculture
UFA announces Farm & Ranch Supply story in Gasoline Alley along with historic $28 million patronage membership dividend

UFA Announces $28 Million Patronage Dividend
UFA shared big news today announcing a historic patronage dividend of $28 million back to its membership and fully opening two new locations in Saskatchewan!
One of the primary benefits to being a co-operative member is patronage, and this year’s patronage dividend is truly significant. We have expanded our patronage program to reward our membership by paying on more categories of purchases. More products our members use daily on their farm, ranch, or for their business now earn them patronage rewards. We are proud to grow and deliver patronage consistently. At UFA, members can count on their co-operative and on patronage.
Scott Bolton, President and CEO, UFA
We believe good business is rooted in investing in good relationships and consistently rewarding our membership with a growing patronage dividend demonstrates our commitment. We take great pride in our patronage program. As owners of UFA, our success is truly our members’ reward.
Kevin Hoppins, Board Chair, UFA.
In addition to the $28 million patronage announcement, UFA shared that it officially opened its doors in Weyburn and Yorkton. These sites are part of the expansion of UFA’s petroleum business into key markets in central and eastern Saskatchewan.
We believe in the value of giving our members and customers choice. People living in or nearby these communities now have another option of where to spend their hard-earned dollars. Expanding our network is part of a concerted strategy to grow from an Alberta-focused fuel and agribusiness co-operative to a western-Canadian leader.
Scott Bolton, President and CEO, UFA
Meet the Weyburn and Yorkton Petroleum Agents
Features of the new UFA petroleum locations:
-
Gasoline and Clear and Dyed Diesel
-
DEF at the pump and UFA, Shell and Chevron branded lubricant products
-
High-speed pumps and wide lanes
-
State-of-the-art warehouse and office
-
Dieselex® Gold. UFA is pleased to offer its exclusive diesel offering to Saskatchewan. This top-tier premium product is engineered to enhance fuel efficiency, reduce maintenance, and increase power.

UFA is the exclusive distributor of Dieselex® Gold
UFA also announced Dunmore and Saskatoon as the next locations in UFA’s expansion strategy
UFA is committed to investing in our network and bringing our unique product selection to new locations throughout Western Canada. The regions around Dunmore, Alberta, and Weyburn, Yorkton and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the other markets selected for additional locations are key marketsin Western Canada’s agribusiness and industrial economy. The expansion project will provide significant investment throughout Western Canada and UFA looks forward to serving the local communities where the new petroleum sites will be located. Along with looking at new investment opportunities, we believe it is essential to give back to rural communities we serve, ensuring they thrive well into the future.
Don Smith, Vice President, Petroleum and Innovation, UFA.

Weyburn UFA Petroleum Agency
Agriculture
11 states consider ‘right to repair’ for farming equipment

By Jesse Bedayn in Denver
DENVER (AP) — On Colorado’s northeastern plains, where the pencil-straight horizon divides golden fields and blue sky, a farmer named Danny Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. That is until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out.
The tractor’s manufacturer doesn’t allow Wood to make certain fixes himself, and last spring his fertilizing operations were stalled for three days before the servicer arrived to add a few lines of missing computer code for $950.
“That’s where they have us over the barrel, it’s more like we are renting it than buying it,” said Wood, who spent $300,000 on the used tractor.
Wood’s plight, echoed by farmers across the country, has pushed lawmakers in Colorado and 10 other states to introduce bills that would force manufacturers to provide the tools, software, parts and manuals needed for farmers to do their own repairs — thereby avoiding steep labor costs and delays that imperil profits.
“The manufacturers and the dealers have a monopoly on that repair market because it’s lucrative,” said Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat and one of the bill’s sponsors. “(Farmers) just want to get their machine going again.”
In Colorado, the legislation is largely being pushed by Democrats while their Republican colleagues find themselves stuck in a tough spot: torn between right-leaning farming constituents asking to be able to repair their own machines and the manufacturing businesses that oppose the idea.
The manufacturers argue that changing the current practice with this type of legislation would force companies to expose trade secrets. They also say it would make it easier for farmers to tinker with the software and illegally crank up the horsepower and bypass the emissions controller — risking operators’ safety and the environment.
Similar arguments around intellectual property have been leveled against the broader campaign called ‘right to repair,’ which has picked up steam across the country — crusading for the right to fix everything from iPhones to hospital ventilatorsduring the pandemic.
In 2011, Congress passed a law ensuring that car owners and independent mechanics — not just authorized dealerships — had access to the necessary tools and information to fix problems.
Ten years later, the Federal Trade Commission pledged to beef up its right to repair enforcement at the direction of President Joe Biden. And just last year, Titone sponsored and passed Colorado’s first right to repair law, empowering people who use wheelchairs with the tools and information to fix them.
For the right to repair farm equipment — from thin tractors used between grape vines to behemoth combines for harvesting grain that can cost over half a million dollars — Colorado is joined by 10 states including Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont.
Many of the bills are finding bipartisan support, said Nathan Proctor, who leads Public Interest Research Group’s national right to repair campaign. But in Colorado’s House committee on agriculture, Democrats pushed the bill forward in a 9-4 vote along party lines, with Republicans in opposition even though the bill’s second sponsor is Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg.
“That’s really surprising, and that upset me,” said the Republican Wood.
Wood’s tractor, which flies an American flag reading “Farmers First,” isn’t his only machine to break down. His grain harvesting combine was dropping into idle, but the servicer took five days to arrive on Wood’s farm — a setback that could mean a hail storm decimates a wheat field or the soil temperature moves beyond the Goldilocks zone for planting.
“Our crop is ready to harvest and we can’t wait five days, but there was nothing else to do,” said Wood. “When it’s broke down you just sit there and wait and that’s not acceptable. You can be losing $85,000 a day.”
Rep. Richard Holtorf, the Republican who represents Wood’s district and is a farmer himself, said he’s being pulled between his constituents and the dealerships in his district covering the largely rural northeast corner of the state. He voted against the measure because he believes it will financially impact local dealerships in rural areas and could jeopardize trade secrets.
“I do sympathize with my farmers,” said Holtorf, but he added, “I don’t think it’s the role of government to be forcing the sale of their intellectual property.”
At the packed hearing last week that spilled into a second room in Colorado’s Capitol, the core concerns raised in testimony were farmers illegally slipping around the emissions control and cranking up the horsepower.
“I know growers, if they can change horsepower and they can change emissions they are going to do it,” said Russ Ball, sales manager at 21st Century Equipment, a John Deere dealership in Western states.
The bill’s proponents acknowledged that the legislation could make it easier for operators to modify horsepower and emissions controls, but argued that farmers are already able to tinker with their machines and doing so would remain illegal.
This January, the Farm Bureau and the farm equipment manufacturer John Deere did sign a memorandum of understanding — a right to repair agreement made in the free market and without government intervention. The agreement stipulates that John Deere will share some parts, diagnostic and repair codes, and manuals to allow farmers to do their own fixes.
The Colorado bill’s detractors laud that agreement as a strong middle ground while Titone said it wasn’t enough, evidenced by six of Colorado’s biggest farmworker associations that support the bill.
Proctor, who is tracking 20 right to repair proposals in a number of industries across the country, said the memorandum of understanding has fallen far short.
“Farmers are saying no,” Proctor said. “We want the real thing.”
___
Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days ago
Hockey Tolerance Is A Two-Way Street, Not A One-Way Road
-
Business2 days ago
Federal budget 2023 includes $59.5 billion in new spending, looks to increase revenue
-
Business2 days ago
Budget 2023: Liberals add foreign interference office, new money-laundering rules
-
Alberta2 days ago
‘A miracle’: Advocate says help being planned for victims of Calgary house explosion
-
Economy2 days ago
NewsAlert: $491B budget invests in clean electricity, health care
-
Economy2 days ago
Feds outline $83B in clean economy tax credits in bid to compete with U.S. incentive
-
Business2 days ago
Budget 2023: Key highlights from the federal Liberals’ spending plan
-
Alberta2 days ago
Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers roll past Golden Knights 7-4