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Dr. Craig MacEachern is no stranger to farming, or to academic research. As UNB’s first Research Chair in Digital Agriculture, he will bring those two worlds together, working at the intersection of research, technology, and real-world agriculture to help New Brunswick’s agricultural sector grow.

The University of New Brunswick has announced Dr. Craig MacEachern as its first Research Chair in Digital Agriculture.

The chair, established through financial support from McCain Foods, ResearchNB, and the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, as well as from Farm Credit Canada, will work at the intersection of research, technology, and real-world agriculture. This chair is part of a larger initiative to advance digital agriculture in the province, ushered in part by UNB’s McKenna Institute.

“I am proud to have been selected for this role, and I look forward to contributing to the revitalization of New Brunswick’s agricultural sector,” said MacEachern.

“I see tremendous opportunity to support our growers, from large scale industry to family farms. I want to focus my efforts on them—I want to give farmers the knowledge and technology they need to make proactive management decisions, and I want my research to be applied, practical work that helps farms be more sustainable.”

MacEachern is no stranger to agriculture: He was born into a farming family and studied at Dalhousie’s Faculty of Agriculture in Truro, NS. He completed his PhD in Agricultural Sciences at Dalhousie University, and most recently was a McCain Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Agriculture at Dalhousie.

During his fellowship, he worked on applied research advancing agricultural automation and precision agriculture.

His work included evaluating new harvesting technologies with the world’s leading manufacturer of wild blueberry harvesters, developing and testing electrothermal systems for non-chemical cover crop termination, and developing the world’s first spot applicator for granular agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides.

MacEachern’s appointment reflects an expansion of UNB’s strength in natural resource and environmental sustainability research—a strength particularly focused on the unique context and environment of the province and the region.

This research focus has led to important and impactful work in silviculture and aquaculture, and related forest and water environment sustainability, as well as agriculture.

The establishment of the research chair represents a focused expansion of agriculture-related expertise.

“The creation of this chair, and Dr. MacEachern’s appointment to it, reflect the importance and potential of agricultural research and innovation in New Brunswick,” said Dr. David MaGee, Vice President Research.

“We are proud to be able to support the development of agricultural practice, making academic research expertise more available to growers, and helping them feed our province, our country, and our world.”

MacEachern’s term officially began on July 1, and he has wasted no time in getting to work.

He has already met with more than a dozen farmers, as well as with some of the province’s leading companies in the sector, to discuss challenges and opportunities.

These conversations are helping him identify key directions in his research: MacEachern wants to rely on the needs of the province’s farmers and the unique circumstances they face to guide his research and innovation focus.

“New Brunswick, and Atlantic Canada more broadly, has some unique agricultural features,” MacEachern said. “We have less heat unit accumulation, for example, and the bedrock is closer to the surface, which makes crops far less drought resistant. The makeup of this bedrock also produces highly acidic soils that need to be adjusted for.

“We also have a large number of small-scale farmers, who often have correspondingly limited resources, and a tremendous diversity of crops—most of which are grown on smaller and irregularly-shaped fields. So, we are going to need to innovate within constraints—something, I think, New Brunswick’s farmers are already accustomed to doing.”

In addition to its particular challenges, MacEachern also sees distinct opportunities for the province’s agricultural sector.

One of the biggest is the continued development of infrastructure, including the growth of Port Saint John, which now also includes a cold storage import-export hub, and class I railways.

MacEachern also sees potential in reviving now-abandoned farming fields, and in repurposing the large quantities of vacant land that exist in the province.

Additionally, he is looking to now-established technologies, including aerial drones, GPS, and connected sensors, and practices like precision agriculture and spot spraying that can be adapted to the New Brunswick context to help it more rapidly catch up to other regions.

“There are a lot of innovative ideas and technologies out there,” he said. “However, most of them are not tailored to our area’s specific circumstances. They may be less effective because they are not adapted for our climate, for example, or they may be prohibitively expensive for family farmers.

“My goal is to take the advances offered by precision agriculture, which is normally used for very large operations, and make them available and accessible to small- and medium-scale farmers.

“We’re going to start with quick wins that help growers catch up, and then we’ll go from there.”

The need for advancing technology-enhanced agriculture in the province has been echoed in the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick’s recently completed Digital Agriculture Strategy.

While he is particularly focused on New Brunswick and on Atlantic Canada, MacEachern sees potential for his work to have benefits far beyond New Brunswick’s farms.

Many of the insights developed here can be applicable in other places, and lower-cost solutions can be a benefit for everyone.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. MacEachern, and his depth of knowledge and vision, to UNB,” said Dr. Michelle Gray, Dean of UNB’s Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management.

“This Chair represents so much more than a faculty appointment. It is a significant opportunity for UNB to provide leadership in an area that is increasingly important to the future competitiveness, productivity, and sustainability of agriculture in New Brunswick.

“The sector is undergoing a major transformation, and Craig's appointment helps solidify UNB’s place as a key partner in helping drive that evolution.”

These benefits for the agricultural sector are also important for Canadians’ everyday lives, and strategically important for Canada: a strong agricultural sector is a critical part of ensuring food security and sovereignty, economic growth and sustainability, and environmental sustainability.