If you’re not a tech head, ISOBUS talk may just be a flyover term that causes one’s eyes to glaze over. In reality, it’s a great technology standard that is working toward having all electronics of all implement brands and colors speak the same language. In brief, ISO 11783 is an international standard of ‘electronic language’ that is specific to … Read More
Ag Drainage Mgmt Coalition Names Reetz Exec Director
The Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC) has named Dr. Harold F. Reetz, Jr. its new executive director. ADMC is dedicated to educating farm, drainage, conservation, and regulatory groups about the latest drainage water management system technologies, which can help benefit crops and reduce nutrient enrichment of surface water. Its members include equipment manufacturers, drainage contractors, and state commodity associations. The … Read More
PepsiCo Unveils Global Precision Farming Plans
Yes, PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, is working with farmers in Europe by rolling out its i-crop precision farming program. PepsiCo announced plans to roll-out its new i-crop farming technology on a global basis. The web-based tool, which was developed by PepsiCo in conjunction with Cambridge University, United Kingdom, is a crop management system that … Read More
Don’t Apply Nitrogen Yet
IF YOU ARE APPLYING FALL NITROGEN TOO EARLY, STOP! MISUSE MAY ELIMINATE FALL APPLICATION FOR EVERYONE We’ve shared with you in this forum on many occasions that increased regulations and legislation are headed your way. And in this case, some farmers and applicators might be asking for it. It is too early to be fall applying nitrogen. Environmental extremists are … Read More
Real Precision Soil Mapping in a Vineyard
Fascinating video of how one Sonoma County, California vineyard, Jordan Winery, is finding the best grape characteristics in various field locations, digging soil pits and analyzing soil attributes and characteristics in order to bring that location’s success to the whole field. Talk about precision agriculture! Take a look. And here’s a blog post about the soil mapping study.
Solar Power Reduces Farm Energy Costs
Energy costs can be huge on some farms–from dairies to fruits and vegetables. In this age of greater precision to find ways to cut costs, an orchard in Massachusetts pursued grants to install solar panels to reduce its $80,000 annual electrical costs, according to a piece in The Telegram in Worcester. Carlson Orchard, selling apples since 1938, has installed 1,050 … Read More
Precision Pesticide Application Website Launched
In an era of continued concern for the environment and tighter regulations, it simply makes sense to ensure we practice precision crop protection application on every acre. To this end, the Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) announced the launch of a new Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PES) website. The site (http://pesticidestewardship.org) is designed for anyone who applies, sells, stores, or … Read More
The Value of Precision Farming Tools
Successful Farming recently compiled various statistics on how precision farming pays, based on the experience of some farmers and university experts. Check out this story from it’s special summer 2010 issue, where they highlighted such benefits as: Strip till and RTK guidance saves a huge amount of hours and fuel savings, while delivering big conservation and environmental benefits. Planter clutches … Read More
Kentucky Farmer of the Year Relies on Precision
Joe Nichols has evolved from watching his parents lose their farm when he was 17, to building a highly diversified 19,000-acre farm near Cadiz, KY. A recent story in theleafcronicle.com offers a fascinating look at his Seven Springs Farms. In that piece he highlights his precision farming emphasis on input savings as well as environmental protection. He makes extensive use … Read More
Adoption of Precision Farming Technology
The technology of precision agriculture has long outpaced the agronomics needed to prove its investment value, but we’re a lot closer today than we were 10 years ago. I read a recent piece by DTN agronomist Dan Davidson, written during the recent International Conference on Precision Ag in Denver, Colo. He stated, “But what is interesting is how the use … Read More