Ag 4.0 Welcomes Youth to Upcoming Ag Tech Conference

Students from across Grey County who are interested in agriculture and technology have the opportunity to attend the Ag 4.0 Summit on November 24 at Meaford Hall, free of charge. Students will learn from a series of experts throughout the day and will participate in a special interactive youth session.

Students ages 12-18 can now register for a free ticket through www.grey.ca. Students age 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult who is attending the conference.  

Young adults ages 19-25 can also apply for one of five youth scholarships. Successful applicants will get a free ticket to the event and a special certificate recognizing their accomplishment.

“Youth tend to believe there aren’t a lot of good jobs around home and they need to move out of the area to find meaningful employment,” said Grey County Warden Alan Barfoot. “At Ag 4.0 we hope to inspire our young people and open their eyes to rewarding careers in the agriculture, food and technology industries, right here at home in Grey County.”

Bernie Blakeney, tech entrepreneur and manager of programs and innovation at the Launch Pad Youth Activity and Technology Centre will lead the interactive youth session. Attendees will use their mobile phones to access a simulation of sensors and robotics used in high-tech greenhouses. Attendees will also learn about the future of on-farm robotics and the use of open crowd-sourced data for on-farm decision making.

Technology continues to exert huge influence on the worlds of agriculture and food. The Ag 4.0.1 conference will explore the latest trends and how they will affect the future of farm practice through a day of keynotes, panels and workshops.

Scholarship tickets have been sponsored by the Agri-Food Management Institute, the Four-County Labour Market Board and the Municipality of Meaford. To apply, youth ages 19-25 can submit a paragraph explaining how attending the Ag 4.0.1 conference will benefit them and the community. The online scholarship application form can be found online at www.grey.ca. Applications must be received by 12:00 p.m. on November 20, 2017.

Tickets for Ag 4.0 are also available through the event link on www.Grey.ca until November 23. This year, Ag 4.0 is shining a spotlight on global challenges and local opportunities. 

Topics of the day include:

• Farming by the Numbers, Par 1 – Philly Markowitz, Grey County
• I, Robot? – Doug Knox, Bioenterprise Corp; Russ Cavanagh, Partner Ag Services; Gemma Mendez-Smith, Four County Labour Market Board
• A 21^st Century Local Food Network: Youth and Community Session – Bernie Blakeney, Launch Pad
• Farming by the Numbers, Part 2 – Cheryl Brine, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)
• Big Data, Small Farm: Data Driven Agriculture – Karen Hand, Ontario Precision Agri-Food
• Success Stories – Deb Campbell, Agronomist; Brett-Marie Freeman, Free Ridge Farms LTD, Steve Plume, Equipment, Dominion & Grimm
• Local Options, Global Impacts: Tech and Sustainability – Tyler Whale, Agri-Food Technologies; Sara Rotz, University of Guelph; Jane Farrow, LLB Mass

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For more media inquiries contact Rob Hatten, Communications Manager, at rob.hatten [at] grey.ca (rob[dot]hatten[at]grey[dot]ca) or call 519-372-0219 ext.1235.