b'Transforming Seedthe Argentina-based com- human-eye grain grading with Certification and Assurance pany has expanded to over 20AI-powered image recogni-DNA testing is, of course, thecountries. Uranga emphasizestion.gold standard for identifyinghow the technology has reso- Their breakthrough came varieties, offering unmatchednated globally.in 2017, thanks to a collabora-accuracy but at the cost ofOur goal has always beention with AB InBev, which time and money. AI-poweredto solve real problems in thesought a solution for variety identification offers a fast,industry, he says. By com- purity in barley. That partner-affordable method of identifi- bining AI, image processing,ship laid the foundation for cation that can be used whenand the Internet of Things,ZoomAgris focus on trans-appropriate.weve created solutions thatforming testing, inspection, Its a great supplementalare practical and scalable. and certification in agricul-tool, Hyra says. While not aIn Canada, collaborationstural commodities.replacement for DNA testing,with the Canadian MaltingZoomAgris core technol-it provides an additional layerBarley Technical Centreogy uses AI and computerTodd Hyra is Secans western of assurance to prevent mix- (CMBTC) and SeCan havevision to identify crop varie- business manager.ups during processing. been instrumental. Together,ties with 97-98% accuracy. The technology usestheyve harnessed the technol- What traditionally required high-resolution RGB imag- ogy to ensure purity in barleyDNA testing or electropho-ing and AI algorithms tovarietiesa crucial factorresismethods that could analyze barley kernels at thefor the malting and brewingtake weeks and cost hundreds individual level. Agustinindustries. of dollarscan now be Uranga, LATAM & Northaccomplished in minutes at a America CommercialSustainability at thefraction of the cost.& BizDev Manager forForefront You can imagine the ZoomAgri, explains. The implications of this tech- industrys skepticism initially, We collect pure samplesnology go beyond efficiencyUranga says. But we let the from multiple locations,and cost savings. By enablingdata speak. Results proved digitize them, and feed therapid and precise variety iden- the value of the technology, images into the algorithm.tification, it supports moreand soon adoption grew, It learns what makes eachsustainable farming practices.from Argentina to more thanOlha Zahoruiko is malting & variety unique based on mor- Growers can make informed20 countries in under sevenlaboratory technician for the phological features like sizedecisions faster, optimizeyears. CMBTC.and colour. resource use and reduce envi- In North America, this The system quantifies theronmental impact.technology isnt just identify-percentage of each variety inThe story of ZoomAgrising barley varieties; its revo-a sample, providing detailedtechnology begins with itslutionizing processes, making insights. For instance, it canthree co-founders: Fernandothem faster, cheaper, and identify if a sample containsMartnez de Hoz, Jaapmore precise. ZoomAgri has 75% CDC Copeland andRommelaar and Matiasa vast databaseover 500 25% AAC Synergy barley. Micheloud. Micheloud, aftermillion images of seeds. We This capability not onlyexiting a wind energy startupstart by collecting pure sam-bolsters confidence in seeddue to the dominance of solarples of crop varieties, Uranga purity but also ensures thatpanels, spent a year studyingsays. These are digitized and growers can catch errors early,the agricultural industry. Hisstored, forming the backbone saving resources and reducinggoal was to find impactfulof our AIs learning process.waste. solutions for real problems.Beyond the speed and cost ZoomAgris impactThrough mutual connections,benefits, ZoomAgris technol- Mitchell Japp is research and extends beyond Canada.he met his partners and theyogy has big implications forextension manager for SaskBarley.Since its founding in 2017,identified a need: replacingsustainability. By ensuring JANUARY 2025 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 35'