A root comparison study conducted this season at Monsanto’s Gothenburg Water Utilization Learning Center in Gothenburg, Neb., provided a dramatic demonstration of just how important a deep, strong root structure is to help corn plants withstand drought conditions. The research program evaluated the performance of a DEKALB® drought-tolerant corn product versus two competitor products – a Pioneer® Optimum® AQUAmax™ hybrid … Read More
More Cutting-Edge Plant Biology Research
DuPont and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) announced the renewal for another five years of a research collaboration that began in 2007. This multi-million dollar collaboration supports cutting-edge plant biology research focused on meeting growing food demands worldwide. With the world’s population expected to grow by more than 2 billion by 2050, this collaboration will help make possible crucial improvements … Read More
New Book: Soil Fertility and Productivity Aspects
Precision farming is the latest trend with sophisticated and large farms all over the world. Precision farming involves soil fertility and crop growth monitoring, electronic equipment, remote sensing, global information systems, global positioning systems, computer models, decision support systems, variable-rate technology, and accurate record-keeping. It potentially leads us to “Push Button Agriculture”. This new book on precision techniques is concise … Read More
Managing Soil Copper Buildup
Getting a head start on stopping soil copper buildup will now be a bit easier, thanks to studies by USDA scientists. This research could help Pacific Northwest farmers develop long-term irrigation management strategies to protect crops from potentially dangerous soil copper levels. Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducted a laboratory investigation to assess how copper levels in wastewater … Read More
National Watershed Research Network Established
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service announced that it has established a Long Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network from among its existing experimental watersheds and rangelands nationwide to address large-scale, multi-year research, environmental management testing and technology transfer related to the nation’s agricultural ecosystems. The 10 sites chosen are affiliated with ARS research units located at Ames, Iowa; … 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
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
New Survey Shows State of Precision Ag
The CropLife/Purdue Precision Agriculture survey is back after taking a year off and revealing the latest precision trends. The survey, conducted this year by marketing consultant Dr. Linda D. Whipker and Purdue’s Dr. Bruce Erickson, was first conducted 16 years ago, when precision technologies were just entering the market. “After 16 years, the biggest change that has occurred is that … Read More
Precision Farming for Manure?
The same precision farming techniques that work with crops can work with manure management on cattle feedlots, according to USDA scientists. Agricultural engineers and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, Neb., map the distribution of manure on the surface of feedlots and the flow of liquid manure in rain runoff. This research could lead to both precision harvesting of … Read More
North Carolina to Build Ag Tech Center
Plans to build a $13.5 million, 50,000-square-foot agricultural research center with 18,000 square feet of world-class research greenhouse space near Research Triangle Park were recently announced by the governor of North Carolina. “As complex environmental issues – like the growing world population, limits to world food supply, shrinking natural resources, and the need to develop green technologies – become increasingly … Read More