Meet Corn Farmers Farming Advocate Billy Thiel

Melissa SandfortCorn, GPS

The National Corn Growers Association continues the second season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. Today, meet Billy Thiel, a farmer from Marshall, Mo., who was featured in last year’s Corn Farmers Coalition campaign. Through his work with this program, the National Corn … Read More

LightSquared Implements Voluntary Chapter 11 Restructuring

Melissa SandfortCompany Announcement, GPS, Satellite, technology

LightSquared announced that it commenced voluntarily reorganization cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to give it time to resolve regulatory issues that have prevented it from building its coast-to-coast integrated satellite 4G wireless network. The company fully expects to continue normal operations throughout this process. All LightSquared distribution partners and customers, including public safety, emergency response, government … Read More

Hemisphere GPS Launches AgJunction Mobile

Melissa SandfortCompany Announcement, Data Collection, GPS, technology

Hemisphere GPS announced the new AgJunction Mobile for iOS, an enhancement to AgJunction, its precision agriculture data services platform. AgJunction Mobile is an in-field data collection system featuring GPS-enabled boundary mapping and soil sampling. To take advantage of the latest technologies, AgJunction and Cogent3D, maker of PrecisionEarth, have come together to release AgJunction Mobile for iOS. Available for both iPhone … Read More

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast: How aerial applicators use GPS

Meghan GrebnerAerial Application, GPS, Precision Pays Podcast

Because of the advancements in technology, the agriculture industry has come a long way from where we started.  The aerial application business is no exception.  In this Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, brought to you by Ag Leader Technology,  we examine how aerial application has become more accurate and more efficient. Things have changed a lot since Agriflite Services president David Eby began … Read More

Ag Groups Urge FCC to Withdraw LightSquared Waiver

Cindy ZimmermanAFBF, Corn, Government, GPS

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), agricultural and farm equipment organizations urged the agency to withdraw the conditional waiver granted to LightSquared in 2011 and modify the company’s satellite license to prohibit the building of a ground-based network. “We urge the FCC to adopt both proposals because of the overwhelming evidence that LightSquared’s proposed ground-based network would … Read More

FCC Blocks LightSquared

Cindy ZimmermanGPS

The controversial plan for a wireless broadband/satellite network that could have disrupted GPS use may finally be a dead deal. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) determined this week that the LightSquared plan to build a nationwide 4G broadband network will indeed impact “both general/personal navigation and certified aviation GPS receivers.” NTIA said the latest round of testing showed … Read More

Precision Planting Launches FieldView

Meghan GrebnerApps, Audio, GPS, Planting, Precision Pays Podcast, Software

Precision Planting of Tremont, Illinois recently launched a new iPad monitoring application for use in production agriculture.  It’s called “FieldView”, their latest addition to the 20/20 Seed Sense system for planter management.  Sean Arians, education coordinator with Precision Planting, says the application puts the iPad to good use in the cab of the tractor. “Rather than just playing games like Angry … Read More

LightSquared Proposal Seems Doomed

Chuck ZimmermanGovernment, GPS, Internet

Things are looking bleak for the proposed LightSquared LTE network according to a story in PC World. A key federal agency involved in testing the proposed LightSquared LTE network has concluded that there is no practical way to solve interference between that network and GPS, possibly dealing a crippling blow to the startup carrier’s hopes for a terrestrial mobile network. … Read More

Questions Remain over LightSquared Spectrum Usage

Melissa SandfortCorn, Farmers, GPS, John Deere, Wireless

Over the past year, the National Corn Growers Association has monitored issues surrounding the wireless broadband company LightSquared. While the Federal Communications Commission considers approval of LightSquared’s proposed terrestrial based broadband network, NCGA remains concerned about the effects it would have on precision farming. GPS technology has become an important tool for farmers as they improve their efficiency in seed, … Read More