b'Monitoring Your FieldsChecking every inch of your potato fields isnt an easy task, but precision agriculture company Hummingbird Technologies is trying to make it easier.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONIF YOU STAND AT the edge of a potato field, youll only see a small sampling of plants. If you start walking across it, youll be slowed by the potato hills. Overall, its not the easiest process. Drones and satellites however can assist you in seeing the whole field, which is what Hummingbird Technolo-gies is using to help potato growers monitor their fields.A drone used byIts fair to say its early days, but not many other businesses are offering Hummingbirdthis type of tool that were aware of, Jeff Goulding, Hummingbirds United Technologies to gatherKingdom business development manager, says in a Google Hangouts inter-data about fields sitsview. I think the market is fairly open precision farming in potatoes is a on the ground next to anew area.potato field. PHOTO: HUMMINGBIRDThe UKbased precision agriculture company launched in Canada in Jan-TECHNOLOGIES uary and offers a full slate of products for various crops including potatoes. Hummingbird collects information about fields from drones and satellites, the information is then presented through their web and app-based platforms to growers who can integrate the information with other technology on their machinery.Precision agriculture products have been gaining in popularity over the last decade with many start-ups launching and larger companies developing their own products. The products are designed to save producers time and money by monitoring their crops remotely, but also give industry a better understanding of how crops are doing and assist agronomists in their work.Were not looking to replace agronomists. In many ways agronomists are irreplaceable, but were looking to support their role and make them more efficient, Goulding says. POTATO PRODUCTSThe potato precision agriculture world is lacking compared to its commodity crop peers like wheat who have numerous optionswhich gives Humming-bird an edge. The ag tech company may be new to Canada, but UK farmers have been using its products for a few years now.One of the products they offer is potato plant counting. When the plate is around of five- or six-inches tall Hummingbird will fly a drone over the field and count every single emerged plant. This can help growers to see how effective a fungicide treatment has been or if they are having any planter problems.16 SPUDSMART.COM SUMMER 2020'