How do you feed the expected world population of 9 billion people by the year 2050? Our friends at Farm Foundation are taking on that challenging question, hopefully with some good answers through their new blog, AgChallenge2050.org. “It’s an opportunity for more people to be involved in the conversation,” said Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation’s Vice President, Communications, adding there are … Read More
WineHawk Brings UAV Precision to Every Farmer
One of the most popular displays at the recent American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers annual meeting along with the AgroNomics Conference and Trade Show was a company called WineHawk Labs. So popular, in fact, that Chuck could only catch up with them after he got back home! But he was finally able to talk with Pat Lohman, … Read More
Farm Foundation Looks to Give Clarity to Policies After Election
While all elections are important, this year’s promises to have some real implications for rural America. That’s why Farm Foundation is holding a forum about a week after the polls close, and we know WHO is in office to explain WHAT they might do as as far as agriculture, food and rural policy. The forum will be held on Wednesday, … Read More
Ag Groups Tell Senate to Reject House Disaster Bill
A coalition of about a dozen agriculture groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Farmers Union, and the National Milk Producers Federation has urged Senate leaders to “refrain from supporting” any legislation resembling the House-passed disaster bill should it come up in the … Read More
USDA Looks at Reduced Tillage to Meet Climate Change Challenges
New studies from the USDA look at how reduced tillage could help conserve water and reduce losses caused by climate change. This article from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says researcher Laj Ahuja is leading a team at the ARS’ unit in Fort Collins, CO, looking at the relationship between climate projections and 15 to 17 years of field data … Read More
Coalition Urges Congress to Pass a Farm Bill Now
A coalition of 39 farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, is calling on Congress to pass a new farm bill before the old one expires at the end of September. The group, Farm Bill Now, has an interactive web portal at www.FarmBillNow.com, that lets you connect with … Read More
Only 25 Percent of Farms Using Smartphones, iPads
Despite their seeming infiltration everywhere else, there’s one place where new technologies, such as smartphones and iPads, are not being used enough: the farm. In particular, Iowa State University research shows that just 25 percent of farmers are using them to receive crop production information. ISU Extension Entomologist Erin Hodgson says there are some reason why the technology is so … Read More
Imaging Technology to Help Detect Citrus Greening Disease
Citrus producers plagued by citrus greening disease, also called Huanglongbing or HBL, could get some relief from the labor-intensive process of detecting the disease that poses no threat to people but devastates trees. At the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Chuck caught up with Dr. Wonsuk Lee from the University of Florida, who moderated a session on “Machine Vision and … Read More
Nod to Trailblazers Helping Up and Coming Precision Ag Companies
New players in the game of precision agriculture owe a lot of thanks to some of the bigger companies that went before them. Some of those giving credit for their success of helping farmers use precision agriculture to get the most out of their fields are the folks at Solum. At the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Chuck caught … Read More
Precision Ag Conference Gives Int’l Attendees a Lot to Take Home
Attendees from 45 different countries were able to walk away from the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture with a lot of information that many hope to apply to their operations back home. “We’re trying to promote farmers to work as scientists to help themselves,” said Rachel Nwakwasi, a poster presenter from the Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria. … Read More