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2020 HACKATHON RESULTS

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: CATTLE HEALTH TRACKING
by Erik Tetland, David Hantke, Ramtin Mahdavifar, Oneal Tang, and Satpal Virdi
PROBLEM: Current health management systems for cattle are not efficient. 
SOLUTION: Automated health management systems using cattle face recognition software through the use of cameras.  

The technology of using facial recognition of cows can help to focus on the health of individual dairy cows. The system that is developed with Cattle Health Tracking goes further than that of the current tag method of identifying individual cows.  The Cattle Health Tracking has cameras to monitor the behaviour of the individual cows and looks for any deviations such as cattle laying down more than the norm. Farmers can use an app to track the cattle health as well as the food and water supplies by showing pictures and data.  The goal of this technology is to identify cattle trends so that there can be less prevalence of illness for cows.  Additionally, this technology saves time for the farmers because they are able to monitor the cows frequently without physically being there. 

MACGYVER AWARD: NEXT MORE
by Kirk Lischynsky & Max Noble
PROBLEM: Moving farm equipment between fields is an inefficient manual process. 
SOLUTION: Automated software for efficiently and safely moving farm equipment.

Kirk and Max both have worked with large scale agriculture operations and have noticed that it is difficult to manage large fleets of farm equipment. Next Move includes an easy to use app that uses gps, weather data and real time data to determine when to move farm equipment between fields. Many different types of equipment can be paired with Next Move including combines, grain trucks, semis, and tractors.  The coordination of the fleet is meant to save money and time for farmers through making moving from “point A to point B” as efficient as possible.  

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD: FARM 2 TABLE
by Greg Tank, Michael Labbie, Ben Lewis, and Taren Fairbrother
PROBLEM: Consumers are lacking transparency in food production and distribution.
SOLUTION: A subscription box for local meat producers that provides consumers with production and distribution details.

The average consumer that buys meat from the grocery store does not place much thought into where their food is coming from, “Farm 2 Table” wants to change that. Farm 2 Table is a website and app that offers customers a monthly subscription where meat is delivered to their door. Part of Farm 2 Table’s market is the purchasing of meat that is less likely to be found in the grocery store such as bison, wild boar or lamb. The meat that is purchased is from a specific farm that is disclosed to the customer.  The mention of the specific farm is also helpful to the producer because it brings awareness to the specific farm. 

RUNNER UP: ON TARGET AGRICULTURE SKILLS MATCH
by Luke Silinski and Megan Giddings
PROBLEM: Many job-seekers have transferrable skills that apply to the agriculture industry.  
SOLUTION: An online platform to connect job-seekers with agricultural employers, based on transferrable skills. 

Luke and Megan identified the challenges that job-seekers and employers have in the agriculture industry. The Skills Match is a website and app where soft skills and transferrable skills of workers are matched to available jobs in agriculture. The program is geared towards people trying to enter the agriculture industry which includes but is not limited to: students, veterans and new Canadians. When job-seekers use the Skills Match they are directed to employer’s links that are in many different areas of the agriculture industry. Using the Skills Match benefits both jobs-seekers as well as employers looking for the perfect candidate.  

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