Research

At Innovation Farms Ontario, our mission is to research and test cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices to help farmers adopt innovation with less risk to improve productivity.  

Testing and Ground Truthing New Technologies: We validate emerging technologies in productive farming environments, alongside real farmers and equipment.
Generating Knowledge to Improve Decisions: We capture and analyze field research data and share findings through LinkedIn, this website, and the AgRobotics Working Group, so farmers can make informed, confident decisions about the technologies right for their operation.
Outreach and Connections: We connect the ag-tech industry with the people who need it most; through events, demonstrations, mentorship, and opportunities for the industry to engage with new technology.

In 2026 the following research trials and farm testing projects will be conducted through the Innovation Farm network.

Select a project to learn more.

Utilizing the Naio Oz we will be testing its autonomous seeding and mechanical weeding capabilities in a vegetable plot. The study will generate useful insights on optimal field sizes, weeding frequencies, and state of autonomy for adopting new autonomous technologies into vegetable farming.

Using AgExpert Field IFO will be implementing a full-season agronomic intelligence framework across three crops, using standardized lab-based measurements to improve decision-making, optimize nutrient investment, and enhance grain quality.  The project will focus on capturing active carbon and CO2 respiration data to provide short-term insights on crop and soil health.

IFO will be testing the spreading capabilities of the DJI AGRAS T50 drone in corn, cereal and soybean fields to compare the drone to conventional methods of application.

GECO is an agtech startup that focuses on predictive control of weeds in farm fields. The service they provide is leveraging data, through satellite imagery, and artificial intelligence to anticipate where weeds will likely emerge in the upcoming season.

IFO-Niagara will be testing the capabilities of the autonomous vineyard robot, the Naio TED. The TED is used to cultivate and hoe under and between vines and will be expanding its tooling into mowing between the rows as it operates. In 2026 the Ted is going to expanding its fields and tooling!

Utilizing the Picketa LENS we will be testing the technologies’ ability to deliver plant tissue analysis in multiple crops (Corn, Rye and Soy) against traditional laboratory analysis as well the LENS ability to influence farm management decision-making.

Farmer Titans platform will be evaluated for its QR-based maintenance tracking, predictive diagnostics and user-reported cost and time savings across 10-pieces of equipment.