Deere and Ag Leader Reach Licensing Agreement

Kelly MarshallAg Leader, Agribusiness, John Deere, Precision Planting

Ag Leader and Deere & Company have announced a licensing agreement for Precision Planting’s SeedTube and related planting products.  The agreement states that Ag Leader, a precision competitor, may use Deere technologies and licenses to manufacture and sell the Precision Planting SeedTubes and related technology, including vSet, vDrive and DeltaForce.  Of course, this is contingent on Deere’s acquisition of Precision … Read More

4R Nominations Due October 31

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Nutrient Management

The Fertilizer Institute deadline for the 4R Advocate program will be here soon.  Applications are being accepted until next Monday, October 31.  The program recognizes retailers and producers who are leading the way in 4R nutrient stewardship. “Our desire is to see widespread adoption of the 4R principles by growers across the nation in an effort to improve productivity and … Read More

Exports Offer Bright Spot in USDA Corn Report

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Corn, NCGA, USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its new corn forecast report and predicts that this year’s corn harvest will reach 15.057 bushels. Although this is down around 36 million bushels from last month’s estimates, it is still predicted to be another record crop. The World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates Report also lowered corn supplies for 2016/2017 from … Read More

Trimble Partners Offer Four New Drones

Kelly MarshallAerial Imagery, Agribusiness, drone, UAS

Trimble has just announced they have partnered with Delair-Tech and microdrones as their official suppliers for UASs.  On the coattails of that announcement come four proven mapping solutions, or mdMapper, including the md4-1000 in yellow (pictured right) to commemorate the new partnership. mdMapper200: Compact but robust, the md4-200 aircraft at the heart of this solution is lightweight and easy to transport … Read More

TerrAvion Partners with PastureMap

Kelly MarshallAerial Imagery, Agribusiness

TerrAvion has been providing aerial imagery for field crops to improve yield; now they’re announcing a new partnership with PastureMap to provide similar services for ranchers.  PastureMaps offers an intuitive grazing management platform, helping producers save time, streamline record keeping and measure what matters.  The collaboration between the two companies will offer up-to-date and high resolution imagery in the grazing … Read More

DuPont Pioneer Advances Biofortification of Sorghum

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, biotechnology, Dupont Pioneer, Sorghum

DuPont Pioneer and Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International are excited about a new sorghum breakthrough.  Researchers have found that increasing vitamin E and beta-carotene in the grain improves the availability and longevity of beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body.  For nations with a prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, this finding could be especially meaningful. “For children up … Read More

Swift Navigation Announces High-Precision GNSS Receiver

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, GPS, RTK

Swift Navigation is a San Francisco-based startup ready to make autonomous vehicles a reality with centimeter-accurate GPS technology.  The company has recently unveiled the Piksi™ Multi— a multi-band, multi-constellation high-precision GNSS receiver.  Like the original Piksi module, the new Piski Multi is revolutionizing the industry with prices much lower than competitors. Swift Navigation uses real-time kinematics (RTK) solutions, meaning locations are 100 times … Read More

#AsktheFarmer with ASA Scheduled Wednesday

Kelly MarshallAg Group, ASA

The American Soybean Association has teamed up with three famers to answer consumer questions about modern agriculture.  The discussion will take place live on Twitter on Wednesday, October 12, beginning at 8 a.m.  Questions can be tweeted to @ASA_Soybeans and will be answered by Kyle Bridegforth (@Kylebridge), Brad Kremer (@kremer_brad) and Jenny Roerich (@PrairieCA) through out the day. To follow … Read More

Eco-detector to Hunt GMOs in the Environment

Kelly MarshallGMO, Research, USDA

While the agriculture community generally lauds the efforts of biotechnology in feeding the world, many doubt the technology’s safety.  That’s why Scott Egan with Rice University is leading an effort to detect GMOs in the environment. Egan’s team is building a tool that will allow them to quantify and track the dispersal of genetically engineered crops and animals.  The developing … Read More

Failing to Meet UN ‘Zero Hunger’ Goals

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Food

The United Nations set a Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger by 2030.  According to information provided by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the global community is not on course to meet this goal.  The study indicates that at the current rate of decline in hunger, more than 45 countries will still face food shortages by 2030, countries … Read More