Students attend workshop

Students tackle energy efficiency challenges in agriculture as part of Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship workshop

Twenty-five students from St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School in Clinton visit Huron Tractor near Exeter to learn about energy efficiency and agriculture; brainstorm how to address challenges

Twenty-five local secondary school students learned about energy efficiency in agriculture at a workshop near Exeter on December 16. The students are studying agricultural technology or energy as part of the Specialist High Skills Major program at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School in Clinton. They attended the workshop at Huron Tractor north of Exeter.

The students did not just sit in a classroom listening. They worked in five groups to come up with their own actions to improve energy efficiency at farm operations. The students formed very different options to answer the challenge. Their ideas included: sensor bars on farming equipment that would scan a 12-inch soil horizon to determine exact nutrients and quantities required for spraying and adjust dosages accordingly; a portable hydroelectric dam that could use the water flow in agricultural drains and creeks to power electric fences or charges batteries used on farm equipment; a livestock nutrition program that would adjust feed for livestock in order to produce high-powered manure to replace synthetic fertilizers; financial incentive and disincentive programs to promote energy efficiency; and a GPS-based drone system for spraying fields.

Presenters posed the challenge to students as a question: “How can we make agricultural practices in Huron County more energy-efficient?” This open-ended question allowed learners to decide what direction they wanted to take. The workshop gave students a chance to think outside the box, better understand a real-world issue, and find solutions to challenges.

Aaron Breimer, a Manager and Team Leader at Veritas Farm Business Management, spoke about current technology. He said new tools and analysis of statistics help agricultural producers to better understand cost savings and benefits when it comes to a purchase of equipment or changing practices in agriculture.

Shayne Mudge, sales representative with Huron Tractor, spoke about types of farm equipment, agricultural technology, and advantages and disadvantages of different equipment types.

Melissa Prout, Conservation Educator with Ausable Bayfield Conservation, spoke to the students about the need to manage manure and other nutrients to conserve water and topsoil. Students learned about best practices in applying nutrients in order to preserve the needed soil resource and to not contaminate local water sources.

Students used the knowledge offered by the presenters to inform their understanding of the issue and they then went to work brainstorming solutions. 

“All the presenters were very thankful to have had a chance to work with these forward-thinking students and give them a framework to find their own solutions to energy efficiency challenges,” said Prout. “These are the leaders of tomorrow.”

The workshop was part of Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) training that is part of the Specialist High Skills Major program in Ontario. Ausable Bayfield Conservation hosted the local training workshop in partnership with Huron Tractor, Veritas Farm Management, and Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.