Trimble Connected Farm Now Integrates With Raven

Taylor TruckeyRaven, technology, Trimble, Uncategorized

connectedfarmUser of Trimble Connected Farm solution can now view task data and as-applied maps transferred wirelessly from from Raven’s Slingshot system. Using the Slingshot API, Connected Farm is able to communicate with Raven systems like the Viper Pro or Viper 4. Wireless access allows for transferring of field data and locating equipment in the field.

With this integration users who subscribe to Raven’s Slingshot system will be able to automatically transfer data from their Slingshot Web accounts and Raven’s field computers into Trimble’s Connected Farm.

“Farmers should have a choice in the brands and solutions they use in their operation,” said Joe Denniston, vice president of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “Pulling data from multiple sources and delivering it in a manner that allows for timely decision making is critical for managing costs. With this integration, growers can now access all of their Trimble and Raven data from one central location in Connected Farm to enable improved decisions from the office and the field.”

“Raven believes that our customers’ data and equipment should work with the software and management tools they already use. We believe in fitting into the unique way our customers manage their business rather than dictating how they run their business. Integration with Connected Farm is another example of this,” said Josh Skanderup, product manager for Raven Slingshot.

Syngenta Acquires Ag Connections

Kelly MarshallAFBF, Agribusiness, Company Announcement, Syngenta

syngentaSyngenta has announced they are making their 14-year partner a wholly-owned subsidiary.  Ag Connections will help the company to accelerate the growth of digital solutions and provide growers with whole-farm management.  The collaboration between the two companies will focus on providing farmers with decision-making tools, specifically with the farm management software AgriEdge Excelsior, which integrates products, services, risk management and technology.  Their new relationship will provide more agility and speed, as well as direct access to resources.

ag-connections-logo“The past 14 years speak for themselves in terms of the level of commitment both Syngenta and Ag Connections have to meeting growers’ needs and providing them with tools for success,” said Dan Burdett, head of customer marketing at Syngenta. “We have a 96 percent grower retention rate with AgriEdge Excelsior. Now we are in an even better position to strengthen our digital agriculture offerings and serve more growers’ needs in an increasingly complex and competitive area of agriculture.”

While the acquisition allows for fully using the breadth of the Syngenta portfolio to meet the whole-farm needs of growers, it also brings both organizations closer together and enables accelerated innovation. It is business as usual for employees and customers. Ag Connections’ operations will continue in Kentucky, and there is no job loss as a result of this transaction. Ag Connections’ employees and systems remain separate from Syngenta. Most importantly, both the Ag Connections Privacy Pledge and the Syngenta Privacy Pledge remain intact, ensuring growers must authorize use of their data.

Pete Clark, co-owner and president of Ag Connections, said becoming a separate subsidiary of Syngenta simply means more support for driving the growth and innovation required to deliver on grower needs. “Ag Connections has built its reputation around protecting grower data,” Clark said. “We know Syngenta shares that principle and the policies we follow to be certain growers maintain control of their data. Our priority is to ensure growers have the information they need to make the best decisions possible for their farms.”

Syngenta and Ag Connections have signed and supported the American Farm Bureau Federation’s “Privacy and Security for Farm Data.”

Ag Industry Commits to Reducing Climate Impact

Joanna SchroederAgribusiness, climate, environment, sustainability

White house logoThe precision agriculture industry has made a public commitment to reduce their environmental impacts – especially those related to climate change effects. While not news from an industry who is committed to developing more sustainable technologies and practices, 81 companies have gone a step further and pledged to reduce climate emissions through the American Business Act on Climate Pledge.

The White House announced the initiative in July 2015 and this is the third round of pledges. Companies who have come on board in this round include Cargill, Campos Brothers Farms, Coca Cola, General Mills, Hershey’s, Kellog’s and more. The announcement is in advance of the climate talks in Paris set for December in an effort to show other countries the commitments being made by the U.S. in doing their part to reduce climate change emissions. By signing the pledge, companies have agreed to increase low-carbon investments, deploy more clean energy and take other actions to build more sustainable businesses.

The measures taken by hundreds of companies have helped President Obama set an ambitious but achievable goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 26-28 percent. To date, 150 countries representing more than 85 percent of global carbon emissions have reported post-2020 climate policies to the United Nations. To read the American Business Act on Climate Pledge as well as to read the 81 companies’ pledges, click here.

Net Irrigate Introduces xProxy Platform

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Irrigation, Mobile

xProxyNet Irrigate has launched a new remote monitoring solution, the xProxy.  The xProxy continues to expand Net Irrigate’s industrial Internet of Things ecosystem.  It will provide continuous monitoring and real-time mobile updates on industrial machine statuses, and cam be configured to send customizable messages to multiple recipients.

The xProxy was developed by the industry’s best-selling copper theft alarm, WireRat, and offers a three-part solution: a versatile sensor, mobile app, and cloud-based software platform.

“Our xProxy platform transcends the benefits of our WireRat technology to meet additional needs for mobile monitoring solutions in the agricultural industry,” said Net Irrigate CEO Eddie DeSalle. “The overarching value propositions of xProxy allow end-users to increase operational efficiency, reduce machine downtime, and enable machine failure prediction. xProxy brings unprecedented simplicity to remote field monitoring. We look forward to continuing to advance mobile monitoring across a wide spectrum of applications and industries.”

Priced at $549 to reflect an economic alternative to “recurring fixed cost” solutions, xProxy is available for commercial use and provides a more modular solution for agricultural applications such as monitoring grain bin dryers, temperature, levels and power; monitoring pivot and irrigation pump pressure and power;; providing security on gates, barns and panel doors; and monitoring water levels in watering troughs. There are no monthly subscription fees associated with the xProxy Link device.

“We utilize the xProxy on our irrigation well that supplies water to four center pivots,” said xProxy user Austin Warbington of Vienna, Ga. “The xProxy is a huge time saver because as soon as we receive the alert that the well has shut off, we are able to switch the water over to the next pivot right away. This increases our efficiencies and eliminates down time in our irrigation operations.”

Lottinsville Named Winner of Syngenta’s Drive to Thrive

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Contest, Syngenta, Women

2015 Drive to Thrive contest grand prizewinner, Krista Lottinville (PRNewsFoto/Syngenta) Krista Lottinsville is the grand prize winner of Syngenta’s Drive to Thrive contest.  The contest asked growers to describe how agriculture drives their communities to thrive.  Lottinville won the challenge with her essay and video submission describing how agriculture nurtures the talents of young women with leadership skills and how it helped her grow professionally.

“I love agriculture, and I want young women everywhere to love it too,” she said. “It’s an industry that thrives, in part, because of the community of women who are committed to creating more opportunities for female students and other young leaders. I am so excited and very honored by this win, and I greatly appreciate the recognition and support from Syngenta.”

Earlier this year, Syngenta posted the 10 best Drive to Thrive entries, as determined by a panel of judges, onto its Thrive website and invited visitors to vote for their favorite. Based on online voting and the quality of her essay, Lottinville was named the grand prizewinner of a $500 gift card, which she has decided to donate to Women Changing the Face of Agriculture (WCFA). This outreach and leadership development project, initiated by Illinois Agri-Women (IAW), gives young women the opportunity to explore different career paths offered in the agriculture sector. Syngenta also will make a $1,000 donation to WCFA in Lottinville’s name.

“Krista is a role model for all of us in agriculture,” said Kelsey Vance, retail sales representative for Syngenta, who works with Lottinville through IAW and WCFA. “She is super involved and always willing to take on more responsibility to promote women’s leadership in agriculture. We’re proud to support her.”

You can read more about Lottinville and watch her video on the Drive to Thrive website.

NCGA: UAS Good for Farmers, Consumer & Environment

Jamie JohansenAg Group, drone, NCGA, transportation, UAS, UAV

NCGA-Logo-3The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that recreational users of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, must register their systems with the federal government. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

“As with any technology, unmanned aerial systems will make our farms safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly. That’s good for farmers, good for consumers and good for the environment. We support reasonable rules and regulations to govern UAS technology,” said National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling, a farmer from Newburg, Maryland. “Most farmers who use a drone will do so over open cropland in rural areas, far away from airports or large population centers. We hope the Federal Aviation Administration will recognize the important commercial applications of UAS technology and create rules that will put the technology in farmers’ hands.”

DOT The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International estimates that agriculture will account for as much as 80 percent of all commercial UAS use. Applications of unmanned aerial systems include crop scouting; early detection of pest infestations and crop disease; more precise application of fertilizers and other crop inputs; and reducing the need for humans in potentially dangerous tasks.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the U.S. aviation system. It will help protect public safety in the air and on the ground.”

Precision Ag Will Play Key Role in Ag Productivity

Joanna SchroederAgribusiness, Audio, John Deere, World Food

Cory Reed, vice president of John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, participated in the recent GAP Report 2015 launch during World Food Prize as a panelist discussing some of the key findings of the study. One area emerged that was highly discussed – the need to improve Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in all countries, including the U.S. John Deere has been a supporter of the Global Harvest Initiative, the organization that publishes the GAP Report, since 2009 and this year he is serving in the role of Board Chair.

Cory Reed John DeereIn an interview with Reed, he noted that in order to feed the growing population, precision agriculture will play a very important role in global agricultural productivity. Reed explains that in countries like the U.S. where mechanization and scaling of technologies has already occurred, the industry will move more into automating and guidance technologies on the farm as well as optimizing – being able to collect and analyze data about how the crop is grown, share the data, and use it to put better practices in place the next time they farm.

Reed notes that developing markets are also going through the same shift. The report focused on Zambia where they have invested in ag education along with early forms of mechanization, seed technologies, fertilizer technologies, in essence the very same tools being used in developed countries. Although he says, they may not be automated or optimized yet, the same information is available to these farmers.

Collaborative efforts are needed in areas such as ag education and investments to ensure developing countries and small-holder farmers can learn more about agriculture and afford the tools that will help them increase productivity. Reed said John Deere is playing a role in these efforts.

And what’s the next big thing in precision ag? Reed says Connectivity.

Learn more about the role of precision ag in improving productivity in my interview with Cory Reed: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/wfp15-johndeere-reed.mp3″ text=”Interview with Cory Reed, John Deere”]

2015 World Food Prize photo album.

Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by John Deere

Northey Responds to USDA Work in Iowa

Kelly MarshallConservation, Government, USDA, Wildlife

USDA_logo_svgAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the USDA will be investing $3 million in Iowa’s wetlands.  The funds will be used to purchase and restore wetlands and associated tall grass prairie uplands, nearly doubling the protected wetlands in the state.

Secretary Vilsack made the announcement at the Des Moines Botanical Garden as part of an event focusing on USDA conservation work in Iowa that included the appointment of Kurt Simon as the new Iowa State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey issued the following statement on the announcement of Kurt Simon as the new State Conservationist for Iowa. 

“The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship works hand-in-hand with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and I’m excited to welcome Kurt to Iowa. NRCS and the 100 Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state continue to work together collaboratively to implement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. During the last fiscal year the Iowa Department of Agriculture and NRCS invested more than $51 million in conservation and water quality efforts in the state. We all recognize we have more work to do on conservation and water quality and I’m excited for Kurt to come onboard and continue to strengthen the relationship between our two agencies.”

Land O’Lakes Global Food Challenge Fellowship

Taylor TruckeyFood, Land O'Lakes, sustainability

global leadersLand O’Lakes, Inc., created the Global Food Challenge Emerging Leaders for Food Security fellowship in 2014 to engage future leaders in the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in the coming decades. An expected increase in population from 7 to 10 billion by 2050 requires a 70% increase in food production, yet this needs to be accomplished in a sustainable manor.

Ten US college sophomores, each committed to finding innovative and practical solutions to world hunger, will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do just that through the Land O’Lakes Emerging Leaders program.

The 2015 fellowship recipients were announced recently at the 2015 World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue, they are: Elizabeth Alonzi (Bloomington, Minn.), Katie Enzenauer (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Blake Schweiner (Green Bay, Wis.), attending the University of Minnesota; Abby Adair (Crown Point, Ind.), Sydney Gray (West Lafayette, Ind.), attending Purdue University; Addison Bidwell (Grinnell, Iowa), Leah Ellensohn (Le Mars, Iowa), Megan Schnell (Charlottesville, Va.), attending Iowa State University; Diana Fu (Pleasanton, Calif.), attending Northwestern University and Ayse Muratoglu (Chicago, Ill.), attending The George Washington University.

2014 Emerging Leaders alumni, Trey Forsyth from Iowa State University, said, “We need people from different professional backgrounds, countries and viewpoints to make a difference in feeding the world.”

Throughout the academic year, Emerging Leaders work closely with their university professors, delving into challenging assignments designed to spur their thinking about food security issues and to educate others. The experience includes summer work in key Land O’Lakes, Inc. locations, including headquarters in Minnesota and producers and rural agriculture cooperatives across the United States. The students also will spend time in Washington, D.C. with policymakers and agricultural experts and will travel to Africa to visit smallholder farmers in rural African communities. They address issues such as sustainability, global supply chains, ensuring broader access to new developments in agriculture, and empowering change in communities here, near and far.

Learn more about the Global Food Challenge and join the conversation here!

Fall 2015 Harvest Update – Oct 19

Taylor TruckeyCorn, Harvesting, USDA

USDA_logo.svgCorn harvest is slightly ahead of the five year average as of October 19, 2015. The USDA Crop Progress report released today puts 59% of the crop harvested as of Sunday, ranging from 93% of the Tennessee crop to 25% of Colorado. Dryer than normal conditions are aiding in a quicker harvest; last week alone the 18 leading corn-producing states had 6.54 average days suitable for field work. That makes for long days for our farm families, but allows for a lot of harvesting to be completed!

NCGA President Chip Bowling, a grower from Maryland, said, “At this time, the national average yield is estimated to be the second-largest on record. While a decreased forecast for harvested acres balances the added production, America’s corn farmers clearly produce an abundance.”

Over the same period, estimates of the crop condition remained stable with 68 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition.

Winter wheat planting reached 76% and emergence 49%, compared with 75% and 54% a year ago and the respective 77% and 49% averages.

No soybean condition rating was provided.

Nationally, sorghum was 61% harvested versus 47% a year ago and the 52% average. No condition rating was provided.

Cotton was 31% harvested and 94% had bolls open versus the 32% and 89% averages. The crop slipped 1 point to 46% good/excellent.

To read the full report, click here.