Agriculture
With the world’s population soaring to 10 billion people, Robert Saik explores how farmers “might” be able to feed everyone

Earth’s population will be close to 10 billion people by 2050. So consider this line from Robert Saik’s “FOOD 5.0″…
“In order to feed the world, we have to grow 10,000 years’ worth of food in the next 30 years, which means farmers worldwide must increase their food production by 60 to 70%.”
If that doesn’t wake you up… probably nothing can. How will farmers do it? Even with today’s technology this it going to take an overwhelming international effort to avoid a mass-starvation.
His first book, “The Agriculture Manifesto – Ten Key Drivers That Will Shape Agriculture in the Next Decade” was a 2014 Best of Amazon Books and this TEDx Talk “Will Agriculture be Allowed to Feed 9 Billion People?” has been viewed over 150,000 times.
In a time where more and more people (in the first world) are demanding to know where their food is coming from and how food is being produced, “FOOD 5.0 How We Feed The Future” should be required reading.
Robert Saik in the Author Hour Podcast:
“Food 5.0, How We Feed the Future was written for an urban audience, more so than a farming audience. My mental image of who I wrote the book for was a 33-year-old mom in a city with some kids who is working and raising her kids.”
“We live in a time now where all the technologies are smashing together–they are converging on the farm to reshape the farm in ways that urban people just simply do not understand. It is happening at a breakneck pace and farms are far more sophisticated, far more advanced than people realize.”
” you’re going to realize and learn a lot about food production and a lot about marketing.”
In FOOD 5.0 How We Feed The Future, Robert Saik examines “how technology convergence is reshaping the farm and the consumer”.
Robert has been hailed as an agriculture futurist with unparalleled insight into where the industry is headed. He’s worked with a variety of agriculturalists from Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture to Bill Gates.
He is the CEO of DOT Farm Solutions, which supports farmers adopting autonomous robotics in broad acre agriculture. He’s also the founder of AG Viser Pro, a platform that Uber-izes knowledge and wisdom, enabling farmers to instantaneously connect with agriculture experts worldwide.
Robert is a passionate keynote speaker and is executive producer of the Know Ideas Media a science based multi-media company addressing issues such as GMO’s and their use in food production. (Know Ideas Media is a partner in Todayville.com/Agriculture)
He serves on several Boards, is an advisor to Olds College, is a member of the A100 (Alberta Tech Entrepreneur Network), a student of Strategic Coach and Singularity University and a member of Abundance 360. As a partner in Perigro Venture Partners he participates in early stage technology investments.
He been recognized for agriculture leadership by the Alberta Institute of Agrologists (Provincial Distinguished Agrologist of the Year) and in 2016 was awarded Canadian Agri-Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association.
Here’s a story produced by Todayville on Robert’s visit to Seattle to brief Bill Gates.
- Get Robert Saik’s new book Food 5.0, How we Feed the Future on Amazon
- Find out more at RobertSaik.com
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 Dowbiggin1 day ago
Pop Quiz: You Know You’re A Woke Punchline When…
-
Alberta2 days ago
Finance Minister Travis Toews, Environment Minister Sonya Savage say won’t run again
-
Business2 days ago
Allow unvaccinated Canadians to cross U.S. border, Poilievre asks President Joe Biden
-
International1 day ago
Utah social media law means kids need approval from parents
-
Federal Election 20212 days ago
Trudeau says he accepts MP’s choice to leave Liberal caucus amid meddling allegations
-
Health1 day ago
What to know about new research on coffee and heart risks
-
Alberta2 days ago
Alberta Sheriffs receiving additional officers and more powers with new funding
-
Uncategorized2 days ago
Please share the words Brian Burke says twice in this chat