Greetings fellow CSABE members,
As we move into the summer season, I’m pleased to share a few highlights for our Society.
Thanks to the efforts of Rene Morissette, Webmaster, our CSABE/SCGAB website is beginning to receive updates to reflect our new society name. Moving forward, please ensure that you update any logos or documents you may be using throughout the year to reflect our new name, Canadian Society for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (CSABE), or La Société canadienne de génie agroalimentaire et des biosystèmes (SCGAB) in French. If anyone would like a copy of the latest high-resolution Society logo, please reach out via email to Sebastien, Rene or myself. You can also find our logo here: https://csbe-scgab.ca/about/documentation.
This spring, I had the pleasure of serving as the keynote speaker at a well-attended Engineering Banquet Event. This inspiring evening brought together students, early-career professionals, faculty, and industry members, including Engineers Nova Scotia, in a formal and engaging setting. I spoke about the numerous benefits of a CSABE membership, including professional development opportunities, access to a technical network, the chance to participate in policy and standards development, and the opportunity to be part of a national and international community working toward sustainable engineering solutions in agriculture, the environment, and food systems. It was great to see such strong interest in the Society, and I was encouraged by the number of new members who joined following the event.
During the Joint ASABE-CSABE Annual International Meeting 2025 in Toronto, our Society will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) during lunchtime on Monday, July 14.
To confirm your presence and ensure you get a meal, please modify your initial registration to select our AGM in the optional events before June 22, as shown in the box below.
The AGM agenda is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kxykzwlxtsstun9ymi2kj/2025_AnnualReport-Draft.pdf?rlkey=mjjharhsvp3fty3r91x6ngdev&st=y1rdg4fb&dl=0.
The final CSABE-SCGAB 2025 Annual Report will be available here: https://csbe-scgab.ca/about/documentation
I look forward to seeing you in Toronto.
Sébastien Fournel, Society Manager
Given the potential for lower-than-usual attendance due to ongoing travel and participation restrictions, we are assembling a list of moderators who could step in at the last minute if needed. This is a vital contingency to help keep the sessions running smoothly.
I am specifically seeking volunteers from our Canadian side who are planning to attend the conference. If you or any of your colleague or postdocs are willing and available to serve as a session moderator (if required), please reply to this email with:
- Your full name
- Your email address
- Your willingness/availability
to serve as a moderator
We will notify you in advance with further details and instructions if we require your assistance.
Your support is greatly appreciated and we thank you for contributing to the strength and resilience of our PRS community.
Shubham Subrot Panigrahi, PhD, P.Eng.
Vice-chair, PRS Community
Post-doctoral Research Assistant, AAFC Lethbridge, Canada
This year, our team had a total of 48 members, composed primarily of Engineering, Agriculture, and Computer Science students. With the introduction of a new, vertical shaft Kawasaki engine for the 2025 competition year, our team took on an ambitious, complete redesign of the tractor. We developed and built a zero-turn, skid-steer style design featuring a fully electric drivetrain. With these changes came many challenges. From technical challenges with controllers, to organizational challenges of managing timelines, our team members put in a ton of hard work and effort. The amount of interconnected mechanical, electrical, and software systems made this year's tractor a real learning experience in inter-disciplinary design. In particular, our team learned a lot of technical skills regarding electric motor control, gearbox design, and fiberglass paneling. Our build crew had lots of fun learning new manufacturing techniques and developing new fabrication tooling - including a hydraulic press, plasma cutter guide, hydraulic run-up unit, and fiberglass mouldings. More than a few 3D printed nick-nacks and mini tractors welded from bolts/nuts kept showing up around the shop.
Overall, this year's IQS competition went well. Our team placed 17th out of 23 total teams, with our team excelling at the marketing and presentation aspects. We placed 7th with our design reports, and 4th in defensive design presentations. Our tractor successfully made it through technical inspections; however, due to controllability issues and unreliability in our belt-drive system, our team was unable to perform in the dynamic events. Belt failures aside, the team made the most of the weekend by working long hours and putting in a good effort. All of our members got a chance to enjoy driving the tractor around the fairgrounds, and a personal highlight of the trip was getting to see our tractor do donuts out in the parking lot. It was a really great experience getting to see all the other teams (especially our fellow Canadian teams) and making many new friendships.
Throughout the year our team also took time for team building and fun. Some highlights include team outings such as speed world and skating at the forks, as well self-hosted events such as our rulebook quiz night. We had a lot of great sponsors this year, but a definite highlight for the team was the facility tours and design reviews conducted with industry professionals at Elmers Manufacturing, MacDon Industries, and Arrowquip/Yakta. Working closely with many of our local industry partners provided a ton of opportunity and growth to all members of the team.
Kameron Ronald Team Captain
University of Manitoba Association of Tiny Tractors
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The University of Manitoba Resources for Agricultural Engineering (UM-RAE) Office was officially launched in January 2024 to foster collaboration between the Manitoba Agriculture sector and the academic community, while advancing agricultural engineering capacity across the province. Operating within the Department of Biosystems Engineering and supported by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), the UM-RAE initiative is built around three strategic goals: i) Strengthening collaboration between Manitoba Agriculture and academic institutions; ii) Attracting and developing Biosystems engineers for Manitoba’s agricultural sector; and iii) Facilitating knowledge transfer through proactive communication strategies. Key personnel include Dr. Uduak Edet (Agricultural Research Extension Engineer), Dr. Donald Petkau (Engineer-in-Residence), and an advisory council with representatives from the Department of Biosystems Engineering (Prof. Danny Mann), Manitoba Agriculture (Van Doan), and PAMI (Lorne Grieger). An "Agricultural Engineering Network" online channel has been created to enable communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among professionals from agricultural engineering across the various sectors in Manitoba.
UM-RAE has partnered with industry, PAMI, and Manitoba Agriculture to deliver impactful research projects. Noteworthy initiatives include: i) A feasibility study on flax fibre extraction using a novel drip retting process; ii) An assessment of LED light flickering effects in poultry barns, and iii) Installation of a solar-powered controlled tile drainage demonstration site. Research into the use of thermal imaging to monitor moisture stress in potato fields is ongoing.
Figure 1. Installation of infrastructure for controlled tile drainage demonstration site.
Under Dr. Petkau’s mentorship, the UM-RAE Office has supported students through internships, capstone projects, and research opportunities. Industry-sponsored capstone projects have included the design of a 1/6th scale grain cart, a refrigeration trailer for local meat distribution, and a novel airflow unit for grain drying studies. Internship opportunities continue to expand in partnership with the Price Faculty’s Co-op Office.
Figure 2. Capstone project from 2024-2025 academic year.
UM-RAE actively shares research and innovation through presentations and interactions at various producers’ events such as Ag Days, CropConnect, the Manitoba Egg Farmers' Conference, the Keystone Agricultural Producers meeting, and Manitoba Pork's graduate reception. The office has also produced webinars and podcasts covering a wide range of topics, including digital technologies in livestock farming, controlled tile drainage systems, electric tractors, insect management in stored grains, and career reflections from leaders like Dr. Ying Chen. Complementing these efforts are practical fact sheets that translate technical findings into usable knowledge for farmers and the general public. Topics have included drip retting equipment, LED flicker in poultry housing, managing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in manure, building aeroponic systems, remote supervision of autonomous machines, and a guide to careers in agricultural engineering. UM-RAE’s digital outreach also includes a growing Twitter presence, sharing updates on innovations, resources, and events.
The early achievements of the UM-RAE Office reflect the value of integrating research, education, and extension to meet the evolving needs of Manitoba’s agriculture sector.
For more information on UM-RAE, its projects, and resources, visit their official website https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/make/um-rae
On behalf of the Canadian Urban Institute’s Climate Ready Infrastructure Service(CRIS), from June 16-30th, we're inviting firms to join our national roster of Climate and Infrastructure Experts. This is a paid opportunity to work with local governments, municipalities, and First Nations across Canada to develop climate-resilient options for infrastructure projects, funded by the Government of Canada through the CRIS Program: https://climatereadycanada.ca/
We are particularly looking to engage mid-sized engineering and consulting firms with experience in:
- Assessing climate change hazards, including flooding, wildfire, permafrost thaw, and extreme weather events like heat waves and storms.
- Wildfire prevention, protection, and resilience solutions for infrastructure and community buildings.
- Designing or retrofitting public infrastructure, especially buildings and facilities to improve energy efficiency and decrease GHG emissions
- Renewable energy, including solar PV systems
- Battery backup power systems
- Fleet electrification and EV charging station installation
- Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions
For more details: https://climatereadycanada.ca/
Communications Coordinator
The Canadian Urban Institute
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(416) 365-0816
Ben Voss, P.Eng, ICD.D (https://www.linkedin.com/in/
Part 1. https://www.linkedin.com/
Part 2. https://www.linkedin.com/
