NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in precision agriculture and environmental technologies

安大略省是加拿大最大的玉米产地；2.8万名种粮农民创造了25亿美元的农业收入和超过90亿美元的经济产出，为该省提供了4万多个就业机会。安大略省也是加拿大葡萄和葡萄酒生产的领头羊，提供了1.4万个就业机会和约33亿美元的经济影响；安大略省有500多名葡萄种植者，种植葡萄超过53252吨。对安大略省来说，榛子是一种新作物，但有望成为一种有利可图的作物，成熟树每英亩可带来高达2800美元的收入。位于布兰特福德的费列罗工厂每年消耗10,000吨去壳榛子；以每英亩大约1吨的产量计算，安大略省的目标是种植10,000至30,000英亩。迈克·邓肯是NSERC精准农业与环境技术学院(IRCC)工业研究教授。精准农业涉及使用通过传感器收集的数据为农场的决策提供信息，以最大限度地提高盈利能力和环境管理能力。及早知道危险的霜冻何时威胁到葡萄并采取缓解措施可以拯救宝贵的作物；提前检测到可能发生火灾的地方将阻止其传播；管理化肥在田里的传播方式可以节省资金并减少径流到水道中。这些都是精准农业帮助农场变得更有利可图、更具竞争力和对环境更负责任的方式。这项提案寻求将邓肯博士的NSERC IRCC资金续期5年。与往年一样，主席的研究重点将继续放在经济作物(玉米、小麦、大豆)、葡萄园(葡萄)和树丛(榛子)上，以进一步推动这些部门对精准农业的使用。在技术上，研究将集中在开发远程静态(微气象塔)和动态(地面漫游车、无人驾驶飞行器)测量工具上，收集现场数据并通过互联网将其传输到基于云的服务器和决策支持工具。

Ontario is the leading corn producer in Canada; with 28,000 grain farmers generating $2.5 billion in farm-gatereceipts and more than $9 billion in economic output, providing more than 40,000 jobs in the province.Ontario is also the Canadian leader of grape and wine production, providing 14,000 jobs and approximately$3.3 billion in economic impact; there are over 500 grape growers in Ontario, growing over 53,252 tons ofgrapes. Hazelnuts are a new crop to Ontario, but promise to be a lucrative one, bringing up to $2,800 per acrefor mature trees. The Ferrero plant in Brantford consumes 10,000 tons of shelled hazelnuts per year; atapproximately 1 ton per acre of production, a goal for Ontario would be to plant 10,000 to 30,000 acres.Dr. Mike Duncan is the NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges (IRCC) in Precision Agriculture &Environmental Technologies. Precision Agriculture involves using data gathered through sensors to informdecisions on a farm to maximize profitability and environmental stewardship. Knowing early when adangerous frost threatens grapes and deploying mitigating measures can save a valuable crop; detecting where ablight could develop ahead of time will stop its propagation; managing how fertilizer is spread in a field savesmoney and reduces run-offs into the waterways. These are all ways in which precision agriculture helps farmsbecome more profitable, more competitive, and more environmentally responsible.This proposal seeks to renew for another 5 years Dr. Duncan's NSERC IRCC funding. As in previous years,the focus of the Chair's research will remain on Cash Crops (corn, wheat, soy), Vineyards (grapes), and TreeCrops (Hazelnuts), with a view to push much farther the use of precision agriculture for each of these sectors.Technologically, the research will center on the development of remote static (micrometeorology tower) andkinetic (ground rovers, unmanned aerial vehicles) measurement tools gathering field data and transmitting itthrough the internet to a cloud-based server with decision-support tools.