The First Company to Reimagine a Multi-Use Power Platform since the Conversion of Animal Power to Tractor

“Tractors have no chance to compete with horses unless they can raise a young tractor every second or third year.” – Saskatchewan Farmer, November 1923.

When the founder of Seedmaster, Norbert Beaujot, pondered the history of the modern farm he realized that the large, expensive equipment has been the result of a lack of farm labour. Farmers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on equipment so that only a few people can farm vast amounts of land. The expense of the machines makes it difficult for farmers to increase their revenues and grow their operations.

He started to explore the idea of an autonomous seeder, a tractor that could drive itself and still perform the functions required from the large existing equipment. The resulting vehicle, DOT Power Platform, is a mobile diesel-powered platform designed to handle a large variety of implements commonly used in agriculture, mining and construction.  

The tech is inspired by self-driving cars and the autonomous vehicle industry. “In agriculture, standardized autonomous ‘power units’ have the ability to complete limitless tasks for farmers while freeing their time for other work, shares Trent Meyer, Executive Vice President of Seedmaster.

Instead of a large tractor that pulls a seeder, DOT is able to handle the operations in an “all in one” unit that drives itself and also performs different functions such as seeding and spraying.

In addition to the simplicity of the unit, the system maps the most efficient ways to tackle a field. “If it drifts off its path, it will correct itself. If it sees a power pole, it will just stop,” shares Meyer.

Meyer continues, “Our vision is to work with as many implement manufacturers as possible in agriculture to create a set of tools that work on the platform and allow the farmer to make management decisions rather than being an expensive operator in the cab.”

A future of several self-driving units working many different fields and monitored by one farmer is a reality with DOT.  “It will alleviate capital expenses of the tractors. It will change the face of capital planning and farm equipment costs and allow people to make more objective decisions based on their need for power and the land they are trying to manage, rather than comfort in the cab,” smiles Meyer. 

Founders: Norbert Beaujot

Incorporation: June 2017

Website: www.SeeDotrun.com

Employees: 5