Small Farm Canada subscribers are invited to vote on student submissions for the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Scholarship. Students were invited to submit their precision agriculture idea that will have a positive impact on the environment and could be adopted by farmers! The theme for the 2020 scholarships was “environmental benefits of precision agriculture to protecting the planet”.
One $2,000 US scholarship will be awarded to a student in each country: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Several of the scholarship submissions would be very well suited to small farms. These include
- Utilization of a remote-controlled vehicle powered by solar panels & batteries to help identify plant qualities, submitted by Peyman Nemat studying at Oklahoma State University in Biosystems and Agriculture Engineering.
- Automated Open Bottom Chicken Coops, submitted by Jason Gharibo, studying at Western University for his Masters of Engineering Science
- Can inter-row cultivation play a role in the future of sustainable weed control?”, submitted by Will Smith, studying at University of Lincoln, United Kingdom.
- How to enable DIY technology to enable small and medium sized farmers, submitted by Tamisan Latherow, Studying at the University of Reading.
Students submitted their ideas in September, via a social media video (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook), describing the student’s research/thesis or new idea regarding precision agriculture and its potential positive impact on the environment.
The submissions were then judged by a panel of industry leaders, sponsors and Farms.com staff members. The top three submissions in each country were determined by the judges, and now the winners will be determined by farmers. Be sure to vote to ensure the voice of small farms are heard.