The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and an independent technical company must complete comprehensive and rigorous testing on all proposed technical fixes to ensure there is no interference between broadband and GPS signals that could be created by a broadband network being developed by LightSquared. “It is critical that costs for resolving this issue … Read More
USDA Could Use Some Precision Adoption
The latest report from USDA’s Economic Research Service on “Recent Adoption of Precision Agriculture” is about five years behind the times. The report heralds that agriculture is “On the Doorstep of the Information Age” – using mostly information from 2005-06. According to the report, “recent data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) show that use of yield monitors, often … Read More
New Equipment Proposed To Keep GPS Functioning
Yesterday Lightsquared announced a “solution” to concerns over interference with GPS systems from it’s proposed wireless broadband network. LightSquared™, a wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network that will create consumer choice and industry innovation, has signed an agreement with Javad GNSS Inc. to develop a system that will eliminate related interference issues for high-precision GPS devices. The Javad … Read More
There’s an app for that, too
There are Android and iPhone apps for just about everything. My friend, Jason Webster runs the Practical Farm Research for Beck‘s Hybrids in Downs, Ill. In addition he farms, too. Jason fully admits he doesn’t always practice what he used to preach about scouting fields during the growing season. Because of that – he’s gone to a more sophisticated form of scouting. One that he utilizes and … Read More
Farm Bureau Weighs in on GPS Interference Issue
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to fully review possible interference to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that could be created by a broadband network being developed by LightSquared. “High-speed broadband services have great potential to bring opportunity to rural Americans, but should not jeopardize the Global Positioning System,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. … Read More
Precision.AgWired.com for Georgia Peanut Grower
Kreg Freeman of Colquitt, Georgia is a double winner for his 2010 peanut crop that yielded a whopping 6626 pounds per acre. Kreg, pictured here with University of Georgia Extension Peanut Agronomist John Beasley accepting his award as the statewide winner in the Georgia Achievement Club this year for the 100-300 acre category, credits a good part of his increase … Read More
GPS Under Seige Session
Closing out the InfoAg Conference this year was a session on a very important topic. Titled, “GPS Under Seige: Lightsquared and the Threat to High-End Global Positioning,” this presentation was conducted by Kevin Kobb, Topcon (right) and Doug Schmuland, NovAtel. I spoke with them after their presentation. The threat comes from a plan to allow high-speed internet service to utilize … Read More
FCC Group Finds GPS Interference With Plan
The Coalition to Save Our GPS is growing as new evidence mounts that a proposed communications network would interfere with GPS systems. A report was released last week by a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) technical working group on the potential for interference to GPS from the proposal by Virginia-based company LightSquared to set up 40,000 wireless broad-band stations across the … Read More
Precision.AgWired.com: Save Our GPS
I love my TomTom. I really am not sure what I would do without it. I come from a small town in Central Illinois and I recently made a career move that took me to Indianapolis. Tom is the best co-pilot a girl from small town USA that moved to the big city could hope to find. He takes me … Read More
GPS Interference Issue Continues
A company planning to provide a wireless broadband/satellite network claims to have solved a GPS interference issue, but a new study finds interfering with GPS signals could cost the economy. Officials with the Virginia-based company LightSquared, which wants to set up 40,000 wireless broad-band stations across the nation on a frequency that is right next to the one used by … Read More