Acquisition to improve McCain's decision-making on crop production and agricultural practices under climate volatility.
TORONTO, June 29, 2022 /CNW/ - McCain Foods Limited ("McCain") has acquired the predictive crop intelligence portfolio from Resson, an analytics technology firm enhancing farming efficiency. Resson's vision-intelligence-based technologies leverage field data imagery to enable farmers to make better-informed decisions, leading to improved productivity from every acre of a farm.
"The acquisition is pivotal to McCain's innovation agenda and our ambition to use digital technology to transform agriculture," said Jillian Moffatt, Chief Technology Officer, McCain Foods Limited. "The technology provides productivity enhancement to farmers and food processors by leveraging actionable insights from their field data to make predictive decisions that improve long-term yields and profitability."
As an early investor in digital agriculture technologies, McCain has been working and collaborating with Resson for the past nine years to develop algorithms that forecast farm yields based on the assessment of potato fields and crop development through remote sensing technologies. This acquisition will create scale for these technologies as McCain carries this service forward by investing in its growth and working with Resson's current customers to help growers and food processors manage their crop production efficiently.
"As these impactful technologies move to McCain, we are pleased to have a partner who will help farmers continue to modernize their operations," said Mike Morris, CEO, Resson. "At Resson, we will continue to develop technologies for detecting pests, disease and other crop metrics based around smart camera technology to work with farmers to understand how we support them with useful products and services."
Through the acquisition, Resson's team that currently manages the predictive crop intelligence portfolio, will join McCain and become the nucleus of a newly formed business unit within the company. The team will continue to work with various food processors and farmers to deliver valuable field and crop information.
"Digital technologies unlock the potential to revolutionize agriculture by helping farmers work more efficiently and sustainably," said Philippe Thery, Global Chief Agriculture Officer, McCain Foods Limited. "Resson's data driven insights can help enhance environmental performance and McCain is committed to supporting farmers in their efforts to adopt them."
Resson's technologies will advance McCain's commitments to regenerative agriculture through smart and sustainable farming practices. The acquisition feeds into McCain's purpose with sustainability at the heart of producing delicious, planet-friendly food.
For more information on McCain's sustainability vision, please visit: https://www.mccain.com/sustainability.
About McCain Foods (Canada)
McCain Foods (Canada) is the Canadian division of McCain Foods Limited, an international leader in the frozen food industry. McCain Foods is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato specialties, and also produces other quality products such as appetizers, vegetables and desserts that can be found in restaurants and retail stores in more than 160 countries around the world. In Canada, the company has eight production facilities with approximately 2,400 employees and, in addition to its famous French fries and potato specialties, makes frozen desserts, snacks and appetizers.
About Resson
Resson is transforming farming practices with the commercialization of their technologies. Resson's smart sensor technology modernizes regular crop management practices by integrating this breakthrough automation into farm equipment, empowering field managers with real-time insights at the leaf-level.
For more information, or to request an interview, please reach out to: Helena Wade, Veritas Communications, [email protected], 613-483-7853