The Game Changer

The Cutting Edge 2025 - BiC - Bourgault Intelligent Control

If you’ve followed almost any professional sport, you’ve probably heard phrases like “generational talent” or “game changer” thrown around a lot. It seems like every year at events like the NHL draft or NFL draft, you’ll hear sports reporters hyping up a prospect as someone who will “change the game.” However, by definition, a “generational talent” is a rare occurrence, truly seen only once in a generation. There have only been a very select few players in sports who have completely transformed how the game is played.

"For us at Bourgault Industries, for our dealers, and most importantly for our customers, this is TRULY going to change the game."

In agriculture and especially in machinery manufacturing there is a similar sentiment. Every few years you’ll hear about a new feature, option, or product that manufacturers claim will be a “game changer”. While we genuinely feel that all our innovations and developments will benefit our customers and dealers, sometimes our team will develop a new system that we just know is going to be something special. Something that will truly and completely change how the “game” is played for our dealers and our customers.

As a die-hard Calgary Flames fan, it truly pains me to say this, but Bourgault’s newest and possibly biggest innovation ever is a Connor McDavid-type of game changer. A Wayne Gretzky-type of game changer. For our non-hockey fans, think Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, or Michael Phelps. For us at Bourgault Industries, for our dealers, and most importantly for our customers, this is TRULY going to change the game.

You Asked, We Listened – Simplicity Without Sacrifice

Introducing BiC – Bourgault Intelligent Control™ – a cutting-edge seeding control system designed and developed by our team for YOU.

For a long time our customers, dealers, and even our own team have been asking for a system that would streamline seeding while not sacrificing any of the features and options that customers have come to know and trust on their Bourgault seeders. You asked, our dealers asked, and our R&D team listened.

BiC is a fully wireless system controlled via an IOS app that was designed with simplicity and intuitiveness at its forefront. When used in conjunction with OEM tractor monitor task controllers, it is capable of utilizing all features and options currently available on a Bourgault air seeder. By providing simplicity without sacrificing performance, BiC advances Bourgault’s technology forward and combats the reputation that Bourgault systems are too complicated, have a steep learning curve, and take too long to install.

Now, is it a game changer to have a seed controller on an app? No, of course not; there are manufacturers who have been utilizing wireless control with a tablet and app successfully for years. However, combining the BiC system with what our customers and dealers already know and trust about Bourgault, THAT’S what’s going to change the game.

BiC User Interface And Integration With Tractor Monitor

The Bourgault R&D team developed Bourgault Intelligent Control with 3 core goals:

Simple Set-up,
Simple Operation,
Intuitive User Interface

BiC is a wireless app that functions in conjunction with the tractor monitor’s “Task Controller” system. This means that some of the seeding functions will be controlled by the BiC app, and some will be controlled by the Tractor Monitor via the ISO BUS connection. In its current iteration, BiC will be controlling things like the metering augers, scales and the DynaCal™ system, and all drill operations such as lift/lower, packing, and depth. Meanwhile, BiC will seamlessly integrate with the tractor monitor’s “Task Controller”, which will be controlling the mapping (including variable rate), boundaries, auto-sectional control, coverage sharing, as well as all data management including field and job/task creation and data importing and exporting.

Now, let’s look at the BiC operating screen.

To get an idea of the general layout, the left hand column is focused on the air seeder functions. This would be things like product rates, metering information, as well as auto-section control. In the center section, you’ll find the scales and a much more streamlined DynaCal feature, along with a couple other tabs for statistics and notifications. And on the right, you have surge brakes plus all the drill control functions including lifting and lowering, packing, and depth. Notice you have no map as all mapping functions would be done via the tractor monitor.

The first thing to point out is that virtually all metrics, functions, and options are located on one operating screen. There is no need to swipe from minimized to maximized views or scroll through pages to change settings or view metrics. Everything is available at the touch of a button on one page. All of the information on the operations page (as well as everywhere else in the BiC system) is in very simple, easy to understand language. Things like “Lift/Lower” and “Packing” are easy to operate and extremely intuitive on how to change or adjust. All of the previous features and options such as DynaCal, PackMaster™, and AccuSet™ are available, they’ve just been streamlined and simplified to promote a much more intuitive customer experience.

One of the big changes to the BiC operating system that was also a favorite of co-operators is the move to “Product-Centric Seeding”. This concept involves a focus on full-product rates rather than the rates of products coming out of individual tanks. Utilizing extremely easy to set seed plans, BiC will automatically assign products into tanks to get the most acres per fill based on the products and rates being utilized. Then, when seeding with one product out of more than one tank, BiC automatically meters out in the correct ratio ensuring tanks with the same product empty at the same time. In this way BiC controls to full product rate, rather than showing rates in individual tanks. With this type of automation, seeding will be easier than ever as BiC does all the “thinking” for you.

Things like PDI, settings, and calibrations have also been simplified to ensure an easier set-up and start-up experience for both dealership staff and end-use customers alike. And all BiC systems come with an ethernet cable as back-up in the event of connection issues.

Designed And Built From The Ground-up – Team BiC

Perhaps the biggest game-changer of all for customers, dealers, and Bourgault Industries is Bourgault’s R&D team who conceptualized, designed, and developed all aspects of the BiC system. Over the past several years, “Team BiC” built the ECU’s and harnessing, programmed and designed the firmware, software, and user interface, and also developed compatibility with the OEM tractor monitor’s task controllers.

This is extremely important because it means that when changes need to be made or new features added, they can be implemented in days or weeks, not months or years. The responsiveness of Bourgault to customers and dealers for requests or changes will be improved significantly.

All that is to say, Bourgault Industries is no longer just an equipment company. Bourgault Industries is now a technology company.

Seamless Integration – Taking Data Management To The Next Level

One of the biggest topics of conversations within the agricultural industry is data management. With the seamless integration of BiC into the tractor monitor task controllers, customers will be able to utilize John Deere Operations Center or Case New Holland FieldOps programs to create fields, tasks, and upload variable rate maps from their home computers. It also means that during seeding, asapplied seeding data will be live streamed back into those programs, making the data management and collection process very straightforward and more convenient, while eliminating the need for USB sticks.

Availability Information

The Bourgault Intelligent Control seeding controller will have limited availability for model year 2026 unit orders. However, Bourgault will also be providing customers who order a model year 2026 seeding system with an opportunity to upgrade to a BiC system within the next couple years (please talk to your nearest Bourgault dealer for more information on the upgrade program). Bourgault will also be providing information on the potential for retro-fitting model year 2025 and older Bourgault systems in the near future, so stay tuned!

This Isn’t Your Grandfather’s Seeding Controller…

Our R&D team and amazing co-operators have been testing the system for us over the last three seasons, providing Team BiC feedback to develop a road map for continuous improvement, especially regarding the user interface. Options like set-up, calibration, and DynaCal were all given high marks, and the auto-tank balancing discussed earlier had extremely positive reactions. But the most common comment regarding BiC was one word: simple

I thought I would end this column with maybe my favorite quote ever for a testimonial on Bourgault equipment. One of our customers stated “This isn’t your grandfathers seeding controller…but he could run it.”

Talk to your nearest Bourgault dealer now for more information on our biggest game-changer to date – Bourgault Intelligent Control.