Truro, N.S. (Rural Roots Canada) – “This is a place where technology is going to be built, and it can be purpose-built,” said Dr. Heather Bruce, dean of agriculture at Dalhousie. She’s talking about the university’s new Atlantic Institute for Digital Agriculture, and why farmers need tools designed for Atlantic conditions.
The new Atlantic Institute for Digital Agriculture launched last month on the university’s Agricultural Campus. It brings together engineers and data scientists to develop precision-farming tools tailored to the region’s conditions.
Bruce says the institute fills a gap that’s been missing from Canadian universities for decades.
“Historically, there were agricultural engineering programs, and they no longer exist,” Bruce said. “This is the closest I’ve seen to that kind of department.”
The institute is led by Dr. Travis Esau, an engineering researcher who’s spent years introducing precision farming to wild blueberry production. His team has already helped develop AI-enabled weed identification systems and GPS-guided harvesting equipment for blueberry growers.
The institute’s current work focuses on wild blueberries, soil management, and precision application of herbicides and pesticides.
Bruce said there are reasons why technology hasn’t caught on as quickly in Atlantic Canada. Costs can be prohibitive, and existing technologies often need to be adapted to work together for regional conditions.
“It’s just often we have to take technologies that are currently available and make them talk to each other,” Bruce said. “That’s where some of the challenges are.”
RELATED: Canadian Families to Spend Nearly $1,000 More on Food in 2026
What makes Dalhousie different, she says, is that professors don’t just adapt existing technology.
“This is a place where technology is going to be built, and it can be purpose-built,” Bruce said. “There aren’t a lot of institutions in Canada that can say that they can do that.”
The institute already has partnerships with McCain Foods, Oxford Frozen Foods, Doug Bragg Enterprises and Perennia Food and Agriculture Corporation. Bruce said some researchers have already developed technology that’s being used commercially.
The institute will track success through the number of students it graduates, new technologies developed, industry partnerships and research funding brought in. Bruce says they haven’t finalized all their performance indicators yet, but those are the starting points.
The institute is also running short courses on precision and digital ag technologies. One recent course spent an entire day on drones.
Bruce said the goal is to make farmers less afraid of new technology through education.
“There are so many things that can be done with technology that’s already readily available,” she said.
The institute will focus on Nova Scotia’s major commodities – wild blueberries, potatoes, grapes, tree fruit, dairy, eggs and livestock. It will operate out of the Banting Building and Cox Institute on the Agricultural Campus.
