With continued success at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, more growth may be on the horizon for Upside Robotics.
“It’s been incredible to see the interest and enthusiasm from all the farmers around here,” said Sam Dugan, founder and CTO of the Waterloo-based company. “We’ve had a consistent crowd around of people around wanting to learn more and (who are) really interested in being a part of what we’re trying to do.”
WHY IT MATTERS
With fertilizer prices high in 2026, efficient application systems may be key to keeping costs low.
Upside took home a gold medal at the Innovation Awards ahead of the show for its Maize Runner, a robot which runs between 30-inch corn rows to apply precise amounts of fertilizer.
“I’ve never seen a robot in a cornfield before,” Dugan said, “and so it comes down to trying to tell everyone about our mission to use robots for continuous nutrient management and trying to be more efficient with what we’re applying so that we can grow more with less.”
From 70 acres to 2,700
Upside’s first time exhibiting at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show was in 2024. Dugan said the company has “made leaps and bounds” since then.
In 2024, Upside was demoing its third generation of robot. It’s now on the fifth.
“In that time, we’ve gone from 70 acres to over 2,700 acres that we’re working on,” he said. “And now we’re working with 34 growers across Southern Ontario.
“Just by the numbers alone, you can tell we’ve grown substantially, and so we’ve been fortunate to be a part of all of the innovation that’s happening in agtech in Southern Ontario.”
Still a young company
He said the company plans on expanding next year and continuing to find more farmers to partner with.
“Big disclaimer that we are still a young company, and we’re learning too, but we have learned a lot over the last couple of years, and we’re continuing to look for those growers that are interested in learning with us.”
Dugan said he wasn’t sure what reception Upside would see at its first farm show, but the responses were and continue to be positive.
“Heck, we have farmers coming out here today just to talk to other growers as a part of the upside booth,” he said. “That kind of enthusiasm just is incredibly energizing.”
Read our full coverage of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2026 here.
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