The annual PrecisionAg Institute Awards of Excellence were presented during the opening general session of the InfoAg Conference on Tuesday to highlight exceptional work and achievement in precision technology research, education, development and adoption.
The 8th class of honorees include –
Educator/Researcher Award
Dr. Matthew Darr, Iowa State University – Dr. Darr holds a Bachelor of Science Degree and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Kentucky Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. His research program focuses on the use of embedded systems and advanced instrumentation to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and control capacity of agricultural systems including those for food, fiber, and energy production
Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Award
Chris Fennig, MyFarms LLC – Fennig’s family has been raising corn and soybeans for four generations in Indiana and he and his father, Steve Fennig, had the idea for MyFarms back in 2010 after spending years studying how other supply chains share data.
Today they serve thousands of farmers and dozens of suppliers to make better decisions.
Farmer – Tony Alameda, San Juan Bautista, California – Unfortunately, Tony was unable to be in attendance to accept his award. He is a partner in Topflavor Farms with his father and two brothers where they grow more than 6,000 acres of vegetables each year throughout California and Arizona. Spinach comprises about 20 percent of the company’s production.
There were two Legacy award winners this year.
Dr. Scott Shearer, The Ohio State University – Shearer received formal training in agricultural engineering from The Ohio State University and was awarded B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 81, 83 and 86. Currently, he serves as Professor and Chair of the Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University. During his 28-years in academia his research efforts have focused on spectral and spatial image processing for the extraction of features for classifying agricultural settings; and controls and methodologies for metering and distribution of inputs (e.g., seed, fertilizer and chemicals) in grain crop production systems. His current research activities include autonomous multi-vehicle field production systems and unmanned aerial systems for remote sensing.
Finally, Dr. Joe Tevis, Topcon Precision Agriculture – Joe received a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University in 1991 studying computational fluid mechanics. He began his career in precision agriculture as a Post Doctoral Research appointment at Texas A&M University studying the spatial distribution and management of agronomic variables in cotton. In 2011 Dr. Tevis was employed by Topcon Precision Agriculture as Director, Agronomic Products and Services. He also represents Topcon in two data standards groups, including AgGateway where he serves as chair of the SPADE project.
I had the chance to talk with Joe about where precision ag is today and where he hoped it would be, as well as the AgGateway SPADE project. [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/infoag/infoag-14-tevis.mp3″ text=”Interview with Joe Tevis, Topcon”]
