Cory Reed, vice president of John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, participated in the recent GAP Report 2015 launch during World Food Prize as a panelist discussing some of the key findings of the study. One area emerged that was highly discussed – the need to improve Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in all countries, including the U.S. John Deere has been … Read More
The Importance of TFP
John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with Total Factor Productivity (TFP) as a means to reach the goal of feeding 9.7 billion people by 2050 as part of the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. The 6th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets focused on the U.S. and Zambia. Winquist … Read More
My New Holland Hits Smartphones
One of the tremendous values of precision agriculture is instant availability of our information through tools such as the cloud and our cell phones. New Holland customers may now access information through their cellphones via the MyNewHolland app. Its a personalized space where the user can a access instructional videos, operating and maintenance tips from New Holland product experts, educational … Read More
John Deere Brings Precision Ag to Small-Holder Farmers
John Deere is bringing agricultural training to thousands of small-holder farmers with their new pilot mobile education unit. According to Geoff Andersen, director, Global Citizenship and Strategic Planning with John Deere, who I spoke with this morning during the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, the unit was first used in Ghana and Kenya to help more than 60,000 … Read More
Global Food Security Focus of 2015 Borlaug Dialogues
To celebrate the 101st anniversary of the birth Dr. Norman Borlaug, the 2015 Borlaug Dialogue has gathered an outstanding “faculty” of international leaders, experts and scientists for Borlaug 101 a 3-day “course” on The Fundamentals of Global Food Security. The Borlaug Dialogue is being held October 14-16 as part of the World Food Prize taking place this week at the … Read More
Farmers Need RFS Certainty to Remain Profitable
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce final rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) this November after months of delay and push back from the agriculture and biofuels industries. As it currently stands, the volume levels set for 2015 and 2016 are lower than the law mandates. As a result, a new white paper finds that American farmers … Read More
Verdesian Focuses on Farmer Profitability
In an effort to proactively strengthen profit-driven technologies and products, Verdesian Life Sciences has expanded its team. Jake Underwood has been hired as the new executive vice president of nutritionals and John “Sam” Wilson, Ph.D. will now be serving in the role of vice president of technology development. “Global agriculture provides a unique challenge because there are so many variables,” … Read More
Verdesian Takes Seed Treatment to Next Level
Verdesian is taking seed treatment to the next level with the latest, tweak if you will, of Take Off ST and Tuxedo. To learn more, I visited with Jim Pullens during the Farm Progress Show. He explained they have adapted Take Off ST to fit their seed treatment philosophy by getting the rates down so low that it doesn’t overload … Read More
PrecisionHawk Drones Soar Over a Field Near You
For the first time during the Farm Progress Show there was a dedicated area for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the drones were grounded, but that did not stop me, or others, from learning about their precision ag applications and benefits. I spoke with Pat Lohman, VP of partnerships with PrecisionHawk, to … Read More
UAV’s Grounded for Take Off at #FarmProgressShow
One of the big attractions for Farm Progress Show this year was to be the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) showcase, or drones, the popular agriculture term. But this was not to be as the drones were grounded by the FAA. Yes, you read correctly – the UAV’s were grounded for take off the first year of the UAV demonstrations. Fortunately … Read More