Winners of the 'Fertilizer Challenge' have been announced at the London, Ont. Farm Show

Robotics is the future of farming, according to Chuck Baresich.

"How do we take the farming that we're doing, and can we improve it? Can we improve the processes? Robotics will allow that to happen," said Baresich, President of Haggerty AgRobotics, based near Bothwell.

His company is one of ten that are sharing equally in two million dollars worth of funding spread over two years.

The funding comes from the provincial government as part of the ‘Fertilizer Technology Challenge’.

Lisa Thompson, the province’s Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, revealed the winners during a stop at the London, Ont. Farm Show.

"The Fertilizer Challenge was created to encourage the development of new products, ideally reducing the dependency on fertilizer coming in from other parts of the world," said Thompson.

Both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have impacted the availability and cost of fertilizer, with supply chains disrupted and the federal government imposing a 35 per cent tariff on Russian fertilizer.

Haggerty AgRobotics President Chuck Baresich at his company's display at the Western Fair Agriplex on March 10, 2023. His company was one of ten Ontario companies to receive funding from Ontario's "Fertilizer Challenge." (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)

Those issues prompted the province to enlist the help of Bioenterprise, a business accelerator focused on agriculture industries.

"Farmers are facing a lack of fertilizer. The fertilizer they can get is very expensive," said Bioenterprise CEO Dave Smardon.

Smardon's agency went looking for ways to reduce those pressures on farmers.

"We have access to all kinds of innovation, some of which can be applied to those kinds of targets, and we found them," he said.

The companies are primarily working along two paths, either creating new fertilizer options or making fertilizer use more efficient.

Winners of Ontario's "Fertilizer Challenge" funding at their London, Ont. Farm Show booths inside the BMO Centre on March 10, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)

Efficient use is where AgRobotics have put their focus, designing a soil-testing robot. It will deliver results much faster than are currently available. It will ensure the right amount of fertilizer is applied, in the right locations, at the right time.

Baresich said that could open the door to other opportunities, "Can we look at enhanced nitrogen application? Can we look at carbon measurements? There's lots of other potential this technology can give us at the same time."

The winners of the Fertilizer Technology Challenge funding all had displays at the London Farm Show.