Tech in agriculture: Waterloo co-op students help increase the efficiency of crop yield forecasting
By: Christie Zeb (she/her)
Tech talent at Waterloo bring their skills to Canada’s agriculture sector. Students are developing solutions that contribute to sustainable agriculture and food security in Canada.
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) is a federal government department supporting the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector. Since 2008, the department has hired Waterloo co-op students to support their work.
More recently, AAFC has brought in the unique skillsets of Geomatics, Physics, Geography and Environmental Management (GEM) and Computer Science co-op students.
Waterloo students are probably the most well-rounded co-op students I've experienced out there.
Leander Campbell (BES ‘99) (he/him), remote sensing specialist at AAFC.
The Agroclimate Geomatics and Earth Observation (ACGEO) division of AAFC focuses on drought monitoring, crop yield forecasting and annual crop inventory. They use remote sensing, modelling, mapping and forecasting to do this work. The data ACGEO collects aids in research, decision and policymaking for the diverse needs of the industry.
“The most complex project we have now is the Canadian crop yield forecasting system, which takes different data sources to create forecasts,” says Campbell.
Waterloo co-op students have contributed to the success of the crop yield forecaster. They create systems, scripts and programs that keep the forecaster running.
In 2018, a University of Waterloo co-op student created scripts for the tool which are still used today. “We brought the co-op student back to help with my project this past year and she is currently helping to automate and speed up processes,” says Campbell.
Recently, Ruth Xie (BASc ‘24) (she/her) a Geomatics co-op student worked with AAFC to develop a Python program for the same crop yield forecaster.
Xie worked with AAFC for her winter 2023 co-op. During her work term, she noticed that analysts relied on manually selecting crop station data. She went ahead to create a solution that could automate this process and simplify their work. “I created an automation script using the ArcPy library in Python to automate this selection and improve work efficiency,” says Xie.
Ruth Xie (BASc ‘24) (she/her) a Geomatics co-op student.
Along with in-house training to help students develop new skill sets, AAFC sets up customized work plans based on students’ skills and interests. The organization finds that the training and customized work plans help students perform to the best of their abilities.
We try to create a mutual working environment where we're getting the best out of the students, but the students are getting the best out of us too. They're getting to learn what they wanted to learn and experience what they wanted to experience.
Xie describes her work experience as "wonderful." The weekly team meetings and check-in sessions set up by AAFC made her feel connected to her team members. “They were extremely supportive when I had questions and were willing to meet with me at any time to discuss roadblocks or bounce ideas,” says Xie. Her ability to work independently and be trusted with tasks helped improve her problem-solving and organizational skills.
Fresh perspectives and skills for the future
Students bring fresh perspectives and unique ideas to AAFC. Their perspectives help to make projects move faster and often improve the functionality of a solution.
In Campbell’s experience, students offer new and creative ideas to approach a problem and apply their suggestions. “Sometimes you are stuck in your daily tasks. You do not have the opportunity to think outside your box because you are so focused on trying to get things done,” says Campbell. “Students say, ‘Have you tried this before?’ and they also say ‘I can do that for you’.”
During his career, Campbell has seen the agricultural industry evolve and an increased need for coding and programming skills. As a former Waterloo co-op student himself, he knows that Waterloo students come equipped with the diverse tech skills the industry needs.
“We used to focus on Waterloo GEM students. As things keep evolving, we are spreading our net to capture more diverse skill sets,” says Campbell.
Like the industry overall, AAFC’s hiring needs continue to change. The organization is bringing in student talent with future-ready skills to help across multiple departments. Hiring Waterloo co-op students helps AAFC to stay on top of evolving technology and its application in the agricultural industry.