It’s easy to forget how much farmland we have here in Canada. It’s easy to forget how much of what we buy from the local grocery store and stock in our homes rely upon any one of over 109,000 small to mid-size farms here in our country. We enjoy a terrifically high quality of life here in Canada, and our Canadian farmers form, to a great extent, part of the backbone of the lifestyle, abundant food supplies, and comfort that many of us have come to enjoy. I don’t think we forget this (nor are we indifferent to it), but because so much of it happens for us without our intervention, it’s easy not to give it much thought as we go about our busy lives.

And many of us are not at all aware of the impact of the skyrocketing costs and challenges now faced by the average small to mid-size farm here in Canada. Operational expenses have recently increased by as much as 25% – a figure that could threaten the financial survival of many. In addition, the average cost of equipment machinery and equipment per farm in Canada ranges from $244K to nearly $500K, which complicates things for established farmers and drastically increases the cost and risk for new farmers wanting to invest in an operation of their own.

Hyven Huang is the Founder of SKY AG Tech, a startup in the Ascent stage of the North Forge Founders Program. He understands this and has found an opportunity to help Canadian farmers (and those beyond our borders) to help reduce costs and operate much more efficiently.

Read on to find out more!

The Idea

Hyven Huang is the founder of SKY AG TECH Inc., a tech startup in the Ascent stage of the North Forge Founders Program. In 2019, he had been thinking about starting a business and wanted to build a bridge between Canada and China. He learned that Canada is a leader in agri-business and found that we’re ranked #6 in the world regarding the size of the market (the number of farms). Hyven explained, “I realized that we have more than 109,000 small or mid-size farms here in Canada, so I thought it was a big opportunity. Also, China is leading in agricultural drone development, supported by its regulations, policies, and supply chain.”

“Ag-drone applications are complementary to conventional applications, especially for small or mid-size farms. Also, with precision technology, ag-drones or UGVs can reduce the cost of chemical usage by at least 50%, without any crop damage or soil compaction issues.”

Hyven continued, “And it just so happens that I am fascinated with drones and using them to shoot video, so I wondered how to turn my interests into a business concept. And that’s how the idea for SKY AG Tech began!”

Hyven also explained a bit about their equipment partner, XAG: “In looking into it more closely, I learned that a particular Chinese drone manufacturer, XAG, specialized in agricultural drones and UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) and had done particularly well in Australia, where the regulations allow drones to spray and apply chemicals – so that seemed to support the business case I was developing.”

The Goals for Sky AG Tech

When asked about the goals for SKY AG Tech, Hyven had a clear set of goals and a well-thought-out mission statement. He explained: “our mission is to increase economic benefits and minimize the environmental impacts through precision unmanned techs & solutions.”

We also spoke about precision agriculture (PA) and its importance in the future of agriculture worldwide. The awareness of PA has been snowballing in the past few years because it’s hugely beneficial in helping farmers to operate much more efficiently and with a greater focus on the health and sustainability of their crops and soil.

‘PA is an approach to farm management that uses information technology (IT) to ensure that crops and soil receive exactly what they need for optimum health and productivity. The goal of PA is to ensure profitability, sustainability, and protection of the environment.’ (source)

“As a sustainable, economical, environmentally safe, and innovative unmanned approach, Ag-drone applications are now becoming common precision farming practices across the globe (US, Australia, Japan, Korea, and 50+ countries).”

Hyven has more extensive plans for SKY AG Tech and expressed his ideas for the future: “our end game is to develop a total farm management solution or system to deal with farm stresses in Canada.”

“But before we can do that, we need to continue generating revenue and building our sales and distribution networks. The regulatory limitation for drone spraying is our biggest hurdle at the moment.”

How Does it Work?

The basic structure of SKY AG Tech is based on the custom proprietary smartphone apps they’ve built to manage the drones supplied by their manufacturing partner, XAG. Hyven explained: “All our tech and solutions are based on our App and operate on your smartphone; it’s easy to use. For example, the App will automatically generate the boundaries and map once the operator has marked the corners with the RTK (real-time kinematic) module. All we need to do is set up the RTK station on-site for navigation in advance.” “With this pre-programmed map, the system allows the operator to set flight height, speed, the spray rate and droplet size for the application, and then just click one button for fully autonomous application with centimeter-level accuracy.” “There’s no overlap (overspray) and gap (Missed target) between different passes.”

The Pivot into a New Direction

Hyven and his partners in SKY AG Tech knew they had a fantastic solution and a solid platform to work with in the XAG drones and UGVs. But challenges arose when looking at the policies and regulations around the spray application of unmanned drones in Canada.

Hyven explained that “drone applications are already widely available and reliable enough to be proven in the US, Australia and other 50 countries. But currently, our biggest hurdle for ag-drone applications in Canada is the regulation from PMRA with Health Canada, which excludes drones from aerial applications.”

“The current Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) Directive on aerial application of pesticides applies only to the use of fixed-wing or rotary aircraft (manned vehicles only – not drones).” “That’s why we introduced the R150 unmanned UGV sprayers into Canada for our short-term revenue stream.”

SKY AG TECH and the Founders Program

Hyven and his partners are grateful to have learned about the Founders Program and credited Joelle Foster, CEO Of North Forge, with introducing them to the program. Hyven elaborated on this a bit: “I’d like to thank Joelle. She’s actively worked very hard to introduce us to the program’s potential and investors here in MB, BC, and ON. We have been involved with the North Forge Founders Program since 2020, and it’s been so helpful for us.”

“We’ve had great support from everyone on the North Forge team, especially the EIRs (Entrepreneurs-in-Residence). We’ve had several meetings set up with them so far, with different people, and it’s been valuable. We’ve learned things we probably couldn’t have otherwise.’

Hyven also spoke a bit about what he hopes to learn and accomplish with support from the Founders Program; “There’s still so much to learn, and there are two main areas we’d like to focus on. First, we’re looking for additional investment from outside – additional investors. We want to continue building trust and a strong relationship with the PMRA to help them understand the benefits of regulatory innovations.” “These two things are critical for us.

When asked what advice Hyven would share with other Founders considering the North Forge Founders Program, Hyven added the following: “reach out to North Forge as early as possible – ask for help as early as possible.” “You don’t know what you don’t know, and you don’t want to struggle with things unnecessarily – you don’t know if someone there can help you, and that’s the whole point of it – to get connected with those valuable resources and take full advantage of it!”

What’s on the Horizon for SKY AG Tech?

SKY AG Tech has a plan in place. Their current business model is based on three main pillars:

– An increased distribution of XAG’s equipment and establishing a more extensive distribution and service network in Canada.

– The provision of training, custom application, and agronomy services.

– The development of a customized application system with UGVs or other suitable platforms.

SKY AG Tech is established in 6 provinces (BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, and QC) and already have inventory and sales support to serve these growing markets.

Next Steps:

If you’d like to know more about SKY AG Tech, their innovative technology, or their plans for the future, Hyven invites you to contact him directly via email at hyven@skyagtech.ca

Do you have a business idea that you’d like to discuss? Tell us about your vision, and let’s meet to chat about it!