The AIVA Network Team at Ag in Motion.

The AIVA team was pleased to attend Ag in Motion in Langham, Saskatchewan, joining farmers, innovators, researchers, and industry leaders from across the ecosystem. In a country as large as Canada, events like Ag in Motion are important opportunities to bring people together, share learnings, strengthen relationships, and build the connections needed to advance innovation in Canadian agriculture.

AIVA Takes the Stage

AIVA hosted a panel at Ag in Motion featuring Manitoba farmers Scott Day and Blair Goethals, alongside Rebecca Franklin (AIVA Network Lead) and Carl Havixbeck (AIVA Farmer Network Success Manager), moderated by Jacqueline Keena (EMILI CEO). Together, they discussed how a cohesive, national network like AIVA can help drive practical solutions for Canadian farmers. 

Day and Goethals both partner with AIVA as Farmer Alliance Members. When asked why he wanted to join the AIVA Network, Day replied, “I’m excited about AIVA being able to support the use of technology on my own farm. There are so many new technologies and ideas out there, it’s hard to know where to start. AIVA has a vetting process that cuts through the noise, and there are a lot of people in the ecosystem supporting this concept. It’s a great way to drive the adoption of innovation on the Prairies.” 

When asked the same question, Goethals added, “AIVA understands farms and understands what technologies could help strengthen the farm. As a farmer who wants to adapt technologies that have beneficial payback, it’s nice to be part of that relationship.”

There is tremendous innovative work already happening across Canada through research institutions, ecosystem organizations, and nonprofits. AIVA was created to connect these efforts to build a more coordinated national approach for advancing agricultural technology. The panel discussion reinforced the importance of collaboration across the ecosystem to ensure new technologies are validated, trusted, and ultimately adopted where they can deliver value for Canadian farmers. 

Bringing the AIVA Coalition Together

Ag in Motion also provided the opportunity for the AIVA Coalition to meet in person. The Coalition is a strategic council of organizations from across Canadian agriculture and agtech, dedicated to bridging the gap between innovation and on-farm adoption.

Representatives from AgSphere, Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO), Area X.O, Bioenterprise, the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA), Cultivator, EMILI, Emmertech, Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Innovation Farms Ontario (IFO) & Haggerty AgRobotics, Olds College of Agriculture & Technology, Sustainable Food Systems for Canada (SF4C), SVG Ventures THRIVE, Tall Grass Ventures, and the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN) participated in the meeting.

The AIVA team shared updates on the Network’s progress, including the nine validation projects underway in 2026, the intake process for 2027 projects, and continued development of AIVA’s adoption model and farmer engagement activities.

Coalition members then participated in collaborative discussions around shared industry challenges. Key themes included:

• Improving agtech innovators’ access to retailers, distributors, and industry partners whose feedback can help shape business models and commercialization strategies.
• Creating stronger support for commercialization at the earliest stages of technology development to help Canadian startups successfully scale.
• Increasing transparency around the return on investment of emerging technologies, reinforcing the value of independent validation to support informed decision-making.

The group also reviewed high-potential agtech companies identified through Coalition member networks that may be strong candidates for AIVA’s validation and adoption models. Sharing these insights helps inform future AIVA projects while strengthening collaboration across Canada’s agricultural innovation ecosystem.

Connecting Across the Ecosystem

Beyond AIVA-hosted activities, the team enjoyed attending the Agtech Accelerator Demo Day, hosted by Cultivator powered by Conexus, where emerging startups showcased innovative solutions addressing real challenges in agriculture.

The team also attended the AgTech Breakfast, where panelists Terry Aberhart (Aberhart Farms), Patrick Honcoop (AgTech-Pro), and Chris Paterson (AgSphere) discussed the importance of trust, collaboration, and strong partnerships in driving meaningful innovation across the sector.

Ag in Motion once again demonstrated the value of bringing together farmers, innovators, researchers, industry leaders, and ecosystem organizations. The shared commitment to advancing Canadian agriculture continues to reinforce the importance of working together to ensure innovation delivers real value on the farm.

The AIVA team looks forward to building on these conversations and returning to Ag in Motion next year.