Latest news with #SalmonArm
CBC
10-08-2025
- Business
- CBC
B.C. mushroom picking robots get $40M boost to fill growing agricultural labour shortage
Social Sharing A B.C.-based startup that makes artificial intelligence (AI)-run mushroom harvesting robots says a recent $40-million investment will help the company remain at the cutting edge of autonomous agricultural technology, at a time when the industry is facing widespread labour shortages. 4AG (pronounced "forage") Robotics is based in the rural lakeside city of Salmon Arm, between Vancouver and Calgary, on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountains. There, it creates robots that use AI-run cameras and suction cups to pluck, trim and pack commercially grown button mushrooms. Sixteen of the autonomous robots are already working for 24-hours a day — without the need for a break — in Canada, the U.S., Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia. With a recent injection of $40 million in capital venture funds, 4AG hopes to increase that number to 100 within the next year. The innovation is part of a rise in AI agriculture technology around the world. As the food-production industry grapples with a number of challenges including labour shortages, some farmers are to turning to the new tech for help. In Canada, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council says thousands of agricultural jobs remain unfilled every year, and the labour shortage is expected to worsen. That shortage is especially apparent in mushroom growing, according to 4AG Robotics' chief operations officer Chris Payne. On commercial mushroom farms, people have to work in damp, dark warehouses around the clock to keep up with harvesting the fungi, which grow year-round and can double in size every 24 hours. "All of agriculture has problems finding people, but that's particularly acute in mushrooms because it's indoors in fairly tough conditions," Payne said. While 4AG predicts the surging global demand for mushrooms will surpass $70 billion by 2030, the number of people willing to harvest them is not expected to keep pace. Payne said they hope their robots help fill the gap, while also lowering harvesting costs, which 4AG estimates make up 50 per cent of a mushroom farm's total production costs. He said while robots may take over labour-intensive harvesting jobs, humans will move into other areas. 4AG is currently hiring more staff to make, program, maintain and sell the machines. Prof urges mindful use of AI Sean Smukler, the director of the centre for sustainable food systems at the University of B.C., has a front-row seat to technological advancements in agriculture. "I think there's a lot of exciting developments using AI in agriculture at various scales. I think it's a huge frontier right now and a lot of people are scrambling to figure out how to use it most effectively." With his team of researchers, Smukler uses artificial intelligence to rapidly analyze soils to predict and address plant nutrient demands and mineral deficiencies across a landscape, as part of a national project. WATCH | How automation is changing Canadian farms: Thriving or dying? How the heat wave is impacting local crops 18 days ago He said the technological advancements are driven by changes in consumer demand, high food costs, global labour shortages and climate change. Smukler said AI is being used in many aspects of agriculture, including precision agriculture — where inputs like fertilizer are precisely applied in varying amounts across a farm — and targeted weeding, to reduce the need for herbicides. "The more efficient we can make our use of inputs, the less loss we have to the environment, but also the more profit the farmer has because of the efficiency of those inputs," he explained. WATCH | How the heat wave is impacting local crops: Automation helps Canadian farmers fight labour shortage 10 months ago More Canadian farmers are getting a helping hand from automation such as driverless tractors and robot crop inspectors, a shift that's been crucial in battling a chronic labour shortage. But while advancements in AI technology may reduce food costs by replacing labourers, and improve sustainable farming practices, Smukler said people ought to be mindful about how and when it is used. "I would really hate for all of agriculture to become robotic when, in fact, there are a lot of people that enjoy being farmers and the role of farming is a really important one in our society," he said. "[Artificial intelligence] could make it worse, or it could really be leveraged to enable people to do the job of farming in a way that's much more rewarding and cost effective." Smukler said it's important to be thoughtful about how AI technology gets developed so that "we're not just letting the technologists drive the choices that are being made."
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Oilers sign Lazar to 1-year contract
Curtis Lazar is coming back to Edmonton. The former star of the major junior Oil Kings has signed a one-year contract worth US$775,000 with the major-league Oilers, the National Hockey League team announced on Wednesday. The Oilers are the 30-year-old forward's seventh NHL team. The 11-year NHL veteran spent the last three seasons with the New Jersey Devils after stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators, the team that drafted him 17th overall in 2013. He scored two goals and three assists for five points in 48 games for the Devils last season, and has 47 goals and 78 assists for 125 points in 572 career NHL games. The Salmon Arm, B.C., native spent four seasons with the Oil Kings, which included two trips to the Memorial Cup: in 2012 and 2014, winning the latter as a first-line forward with the Western Hockey League club. He made the jump to the NHL the following season.
CBC
18-06-2025
- CBC
Remains found in B.C. identified as woman who went missing in 2017
Social Sharing Mounties in British Columbia's Interior say human remains found last month have been confirmed as being a woman who went missing near Sicamous nearly eight years ago. They say the remains were discovered on a rural property in Salmon Arm on May 5, and the B.C. Coroners Service has since linked them to Nicole Bell. She was 31 when she disappeared in September 2017, and major crime investigators who took conduct of the case quickly confirmed the woman's disappearance "was the result of foul play." She was one of five women who went missing in the North Okanagan over a 20-month period in 2016 and 2017, but police say it has been established that the disappearances were not all associated to the same person. But the RCMP news release says investigators believe the person responsible for Bell's death is the primary suspect in the killing of at least one other victim, but that man is dead. Eighteen-year-old Traci Genereaux was reported missing on June 9, 2017, and her remains were found when police executed a search warrant on Curtis Sagmoen's family farm in Salmon Arm in October that year. Police do not name Sagmoen in the news release, but say they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public as the primary suspect is dead. Sagmoen was reported dead in a Vernon hotel in April this year. The release says the Southeast District Major Crimes Unit continues to investigate the deaths of both women as "additional parties to the offence have not yet been ruled out."
CTV News
18-06-2025
- CTV News
Remains of B.C. woman who disappeared in 2017 identified, police say
The remains of a British Columbia woman who disappeared under suspicious circumstances nearly eight years ago have been found and identified. Mounties say the remains were discovered on a rural property in Salmon Arm, B.C., on May 5. The B.C. Coroners Service has since identified the body as that of Nicole Crystal Bell, who was reported missing from the Sicamous area in September 2017, at the age of 31. Major crime investigators took conduct of the case in the days after Bell's disappearance and confirmed the woman met with foul play. Bell was one of five women who went missing in the northern Okanagan region in 2016 and 2017. A statement Wednesday from the Salmon Arm RCMP says investigators believe the person responsible for Bell's death is the primary suspect in the killing of at least one other victim. 'Although it has been established that the disappearance of all five women were not associated to a single serial actor, investigators believe that the primary suspect responsible for Bell's death is the same as that of Traci Genereaux,' the statement said. That suspect, who police have not named, is 'now deceased,' according to the RCMP. However, 'additional parties to the offence have not yet been ruled out,' the statement said. Genereaux was 18 years old when she was reported missing in June 2017. Her body was found in October of that year as police searched a 24-acre farm in Salmon Arm. Police have not identified the cause of death in either case. Two other women were reported missing from the area in 2016 and have not been heard from since: 46-year-old Deanna Wertz and 27-year-old Caitlin Potts. The remains of a fifth woman who disappeared that year, Ashley Marie Simpson, were later found, and her boyfriend, Derek Lee Matthew Favell, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in her death. Investigators said Wednesday they do not believe there is any ongoing threat to public safety in relation to Bell's death.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Age-progressed drawing released in B.C. cold case
Raymond Kohout is seen in these images handed out by the Salmon Arm RCMP. Mounties in Salmon Arm, B.C., are asking the public for any information that could help find a man who has been missing for 23 years. Raymond 'Ray' Kohout was last seen on April 29, 2002, riding a blue mountain bike on the Trans-Canada Highway between Salmon Arm and Canoe, according to police. His bike was found between Salmon Arm and Sicamous on Sept. 11 of that year. The nurse, husband, and father of three has not been seen or heard from since. Police released an age-progressed sketch of Kohout on Monday, showing what he may look like today. Kohout was born in 1960, so he would be 64 or 65 now. Raymond Kohout An age-progressed drawing of Raymond Kohout handed out by the Salmon Arm RCMP. Mounties describe Kohout as a white man with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5'4' tall and weighing 150 pounds. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Salmon Arm RCMP at 250-832-6044, leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers, or email the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at canadasmissing-disparuscanada@
