- Vegalab, Inc. has announced the successful trials of its Pollen Boost product and initial first orders of Pollen Boost for delivery in early February from Stanislaus Farm Supply, Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, and Mid Valley Agricultural Services, Inc.
- Apache Sprayers will launch the Apache AS630 Sprayer at the 2018 National Farm Machinery Show. The Apache AS630 was built to meet the needs of farmers who want to upgrade to a self-propelled and spray on their own or the larger producer that needs an extra sprayer for their operation.
- The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has released the following statement regarding President Donald Trump’s budget for conservation programs in the 2019 fiscal year. “Once again, this administration is calling on American producers to do more with less,” NACD President Brent Van Dyke said. “The President’s budget proposes cuts to almost every area of USDA’s discretionary and mandatory budgets, including nearly $15 billion in cuts to farm bill conservation programs and over a 20 percent reduction to Conservation Operations.”
- Salford Group is releasing a row crop air boom for the new 8700 Pull-Type Air Boom Applicator. Both the new 6700 and 8700, and the newly released Ferti-GO 4S, will be on display at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville.
- A cloud-based, micro-irrigation system tested on a farm in India has cut water use by up to 80 percent and doubled the crop yield, and could relieve the environmental stress that agriculture places on India’s natural resources. The system, which was developed by scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, combines a highly localized weather forecast with local know-how on irrigation needs and soil conditions and has been trialled as part of the Innovate UK-funded Smart Control of Rural Renewable Energy and Storage (SCORRES) project.
- Members of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN), an association representing major plant phenotyping centers across the continent, have elected Iowa Corn Technology Commercialization Manager David Ertl to the Executive Board. The goal of the NAPPN is to increase the visibility and impact of plant phenotyping and facilitate communication and cooperation within the plant phenotyping and related communities.
