Agricultural Technologies and Farm Insurance: Transforming the Daily Lives of Our Insured Members

In just 35 years, farms have modernized at an impressive rate. Robots, sensors, drones, autonomous tractors… Today, farms are mostly smart and connected. These technologies help optimize yields while managing risks to protect what you, Québec’s farmers, have been building for generations.  

The agricultural sector is evolving—and so is technology

Agriculture has changed significantly since your grandparents’ time. Not so long ago, decisions were made based on instinct. Calculations and field sketches were done by hand. And people relied on Grandpa’s aching knee—or on the behaviour of the herds—to predict the weather!

Today, agricultural businesses have access to technologies that would have been unimaginable 50 years ago, and the number of facilities using them continues to grow. In 2023, Québec’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation (MAPAQ) highlighted findings from Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census of Agriculture, which estimated that the number of farms in Québec equipped with a milking robot had doubled in just five years. The same study also found that one in nine farms was using an automated guidance system on its equipment.

If the use of technology is increasing, it’s because the technology itself is improving. Thirty-five years ago, the first milking robots had only one function: milking. Now, they collect and analyze data. They help detect heat cycles, provide information on milk quality and identify the presence of disease.

In short, the tasks you once carried out based on instinct can now be done using fast, precise tools.

Agricultural technologies and farm insurance supporting your production every day

Every resource on your farm is valuable, and the latest technologies help preserve them while making agriculture more sustainable and resilient.

The introduction of robots as an environmental solution has helped optimize water use through targeted irrigation, reduce the use of chemical inputs thanks to more precise soil mapping and improve ration management within herds. These advances have a positive impact on the operating costs of your production, notably by providing access to data that offers a real-time picture of your fields, resources and performance.

Agricultural technologies help farmers better manage challenges such as labour shortages. In 2022, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council estimated that there were still 7,800 unfilled positions in the sector, even with the support of foreign workers. Mechanical weeding and drone-based seeding have entered the scene, carried out by specialized agronomy firms. Some even entrust milking and manure collection to robots and chick sexing to artificial intelligence tools! Automating these tasks helps offset labour shortages and prevents slowdowns in your farm’s operations.

In addition to helping you better manage your production, agricultural technologies serve another essential role: reducing the risk of damage.

Today, technologies are used both to plan for what’s predictable… and to prevent what isn’t.

Technology in the service of risk prevention

From one season to the next, extreme weather events are causing increasingly significant damage. Although unpredictability is part of agricultural reality, when a loss occurs, the damage goes beyond the property affected or a building collapsing. For farm owners, it can mean years of hard work disappearing in just minutes: buildings filled with memories, animals cared for with dedication, thousands of uncounted hours, a dream gone and a legacy lost for future generations.

At Promutuel Insurance, we understand your reality and we’re here to support you in the face of adversity. Our insured members can attest to it: the key is to be well protected. A farm fire is avoided, herds survive a ventilation system failure, and crops are saved by a field drainage system; catastrophic scenarios are averted thanks to the use of modern technologies. That’s why we encourage their implementation within your farm business.

Weather: Responding more quickly to extreme conditions

Intense weather events are becoming more frequent. Fortunately, new tools are coming onto the market to help anticipate them. Here are a few examples:

• Moisture and water sensors detect water damage in a poultry house or livestock building and trigger an immediate alert.
• Agricultural drones are used by specialized companies to identify areas of fields that are too dry or too wet.
• Local weather stations provide precise information, because a 40% chance of showers can be quite a headache to manage when it’s time to make hay or bring in the harvest.

Environment: Reducing your impact

Protecting the environment is one of the best practices that technology can support.

• GPS-equipped tractors can help you comply with buffer zones around waterways, wells and wetlands.
• Drones help identify areas that require fertilizer or pesticides through multispectral imaging.
• Specialized robots support weed control by reducing or eliminating pesticides using laser- or high-voltage systems calibrated by artificial intelligence.

Disease: Detecting earlier to prevent the worst

A disease affecting animals or crops can spread quickly in an agricultural setting and lead to serious consequences. New technologies now make it possible to detect issues and potential complications, such as apps that track cattle gestation, tools that analyze horses’ gait, and drones and smart sensors that assess crop conditions.

Equipment breakdowns: Sounding the alarm before everything comes to a halt

A breakdown never gives warning… and sometimes happens at the worst possible moment. Many new systems rely on technology to send immediate notifications in the event of a problem, helping you avoid damage, including: 

• when your robot stops operating or requires maintenance;
• if there is a power outage in a building;
• when your equipment is operating abnormally.

Fire: Protecting what you’ve built

Fire remains one of the worst nightmares in agriculture. Did you know that there are now fire prevention systems and electrical fault detection systems that intervene directly within your facilities or send alerts to your cellular phone? These advances help limit damage and can even help you sleep soundly at night!

Cyber risks: The new challenge

The smarter a farm becomes, the more vulnerable it is to other types of risks:

• data theft;
• hacking;
• misinterpretation of information;
• service outages.

Appropriate security measures therefore become essential: backups, updates, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and more. To address this new reality, Promutuel Insurance now offers cyber risk coverage, subject to certain terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions. Speak with your damage insurance representative to learn more.

Protecting your legacy… with the right tools

Technology is now part of everyday life, but rest assured: despite its impressive capabilities, it will never equal your understanding of the land. You know your animals and your fields better than anyone. Agricultural technologies and farm insurance work together to support you—they don’t replace your expertise.

You remain the true experts of your operations.
Just as we are your experts in insurance.

Take a moment to review your farm insurance coverage with your damage insurance representative.