b'Spud Smarts 10 Most Innovative Products for 2023What innovative products are leading the potato industry into the future? BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONWITH CHANGING WEATHER conditions and disease threats, those in the potato industry are always working to adapt to keep growing spuds. These adaptations are happening in various ways but at the heart of them is new technologies.To take a closer look at what these new technologies are, Spud Smart named the 10 most innovative products in the Canadian potato industry for 2023. This is the second time our magazine has hosted this contest.Our team received multiple applications from across the potato industry, from processing to field. Choosing the 10 products was a challenge and those selected by our editorial board were named based on a combination of the following: It must have been launched in Canada after Jan. 1, 2020It must be related to potatoes in some way (it could be in food processing, as long as potatoes were a target crop) Its overall impact on the industry InteliRain Micro-Precision Irrigation (MPI) System, The potential for scalability by InteliRain Inc. Widespread use in the potato industry Commercial Launch: June 2022This led us to 10 products. Weve listed our top 10 innovationsWith water being a limited on the following pages in alphabetical order. resource for some potato growers, ways to reduce usage while still giving spuds the water they need is paramount. The InteliRain Micro-Precision Irrigation (MPI) System is a fully automated pivot irrigation solution that reduces water usage by up to 34 per cent and increases yields by up to 17 per cent.It has multi-spectral robotic sensors mounted onto each span of the pivot that scan the field ahead and behind of the pivot, creating real time field data. Data is collected using the offline LoRa communication to wirelessly transmit sensor data to an on-site computer.25 mm Impact Recording Device, by Techmark Inc. Using real-time sensor and weather data, the system generates Commercial Launch: 2020 a nozzle-specific watering prescription suited to the current While those working the potato industry have had access towatering needs of the crop. It uses machine learning to account the impact recording device for years, it was always sized forfor the unique characteristics of each micro-zone within the larger varieties. The device is meant to help reduce incidentspotato field, allowing for precise soil moisture predictions. The where potatoes may get bruised during the production process.nozzle-specific prescriptions are wirelessly transmitted to each Growers now have access to the 25 mm Impact Recording Devicespan of the pivot automatically. It also controls the speed of the which is made for smaller potato varieties.pivot according to sensor data, wind drift and evaporation losses The 25 mm Impact Recording Device is meant for fingerlingto maximizing watering efficiency.and creamer sized potatoes. It evaluates and identifies areas in the handling of potatoes that may be causing mechanical damage, to reduce damage during the handling processes to help growers identify and reduce overall waste.6SPUDSMART.COM Spring 2023'