Human & Robot Team Up for High-tech Harvest

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Harvesting

ConceptualTreeFruitID-300x181Fall is in the air and it’s harvest time for Washington apple growers. With another bumper crop expected this season many Washington tree fruit growers dream of a day when automated technology helps bring in the harvest. Manoj Karkee, assistant professor with the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems at WSU, believes that day will soon be upon us.

Karkee and his team of WSU scientists recently won a $548,000 USDA grant to develop tree fruit harvesting technology where robot and human work side by side. “Due to the complexity of fruit identification in an orchard environment, collaboration between human and machine is very important. This is what’s unique,” Karkee said. “When the robot can’t deliver, humans will step in and vice versa.”

When apples are in clusters or obscured by leaves and branches, a robot requires complex algorithms and long computational time to identify them. Humans, on the other hand, can very quickly identify fruits in these situations. Working together in a mobile system in the field, the fruit is identified in real time faster than by human or machine alone.

Karkee will develop specialized robotic methods to harvest fruit with consideration for things like the delicacy of the fruit and the dynamics of picking fruit by hand.

REAP Funds Make Rural Areas More Energy Efficient

John DavisEnergy, USDA

usda-logoFarmers, ranchers and small businesses in rural areas of 22 states will benefit from projects designed to use energy more efficiently, as well as making sure renewable energy from rural America is a significant part of the mix. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the latest round of grants and loans being made available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

“REAP continues to help farmers and rural businesses reduce their energy consumption and by doing so, improve the bottom line of their operations,” [Acting Under Secretary for Rural Development Doug] O’Brien said. “This important Farm Bill program and others like it would not be available without a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill.”

A good portion of the REAP funds are going to make operations more efficient, including nearly $110,000 to increase the energy output from an anaerobic digester in Vermont, more than $66,000 for energy efficiency improvements for a Georgia poultry farm, and improvements to a California farm’s food refrigeration system, not to mention dozens of renewable energy projects that include more than $31,000 for some E85 and biodiesel blender dispensers in Iowa and almost $60,000 to purchase equipment to make biodiesel in Indiana.

You can see the entire list of projects here.

What is Conservation Agriculture Worth?

Jamie JohansenConservation, environment, Events

CTIC Dialogue6The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) Dialogues are right around the corner. The panel discussion will focus on the economic and ecological benefits of agricultural conservation systems. Conservation tools, measurements for economic and ecological benefits, long-term economic returns and their effects on producers’ decision-making processes and conservation trends that will affect agriculture in the next five years are all topics the panel will cover.

Agricultural conservation systems could hold solutions for several of the issues we are facing in agriculture, such as a growing population and the loss of land for agriculture. Conservation agriculture enables producers to do more with less while protecting water and air quality, improving the soil, providing habitat for wildlife, contributing to a healthy community and producing high-yielding crops for our nation’s feed, fiber and fuel.

The event will take place October 21 from 3:30-5:30pm in Washington, D.C. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2168.

Panelists will include:
– Suzy Friedman – Director of Agricultural Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund
– Josh Maxwell – Senior Professional Staff, House Committee on Agriculture
– Ray McCormick – Producer, Indiana
– Jean Payne – President, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association
– Wallace Tyner – Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
– Sara Wyant, Moderator & President, Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.

For more information visit www.ctic.org/CTICDialogues or call 756-494-9555.

New Shuttle Loading Facility Up and Running

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Growmark, transportation

A new 110-car shuttle loading facility on the Norfolk Southern railroad near Kankakee, Illinois is up and running just in time for the fall harvest.

EGM logoThe state-of-the-art facility is the result of a partnership between GROWMARK and Heritage FS Eastern Grain Marketing (EGM) that provides additional value from GROWMARK’s investment in Central States Enterprises, a partner firm with significant rail capacity and destination markets.

EGM general manager and Heritage FS CEO Dana Robinson says they are receiving grain at the new shuttle loader from this year’s harvest. “The shuttle loader is a circular track (which is) well over a mile long, about a mile and a half,” said Robinson. “It is capable of handling 110 unit cars at a time, plus four engines.”

Robinson says the new facility is highly efficient. “Each car will be filled from the train loading site and the inspection and the weighing will be going on at the same time as the filling operation,” he said. “The name of the game is speed and that’s what this facility was set up for – both in-bound and out-bound grain – because we get premiums for fast turn around on the unit train.”

The facility is well-positioned to market grain from northeastern Illinois into the Southern markets on both the NS (Norfolk Southern) and the BN (Burlington Northern) railroads. “The BN gives us access to the cattle market in the southwest, Texas area, and the NS gives us excellent coverage for the poultry market in the southeast and the ethanol plants in Indiana and Ohio,” said Robinson.

Robinson provides more information about the new facility in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/growmark-robinson.mp3″ text=”Interview with Dana Robinson, EGM and Heritage FS”]

2013 ARA Conference

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Events

aralogoThe 2013 ARA Conference will be held December 3-5 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Florida. One of the features of this year’s conference is a breakout session dedicated to new technologies. The top two supplier nominees of the 2013 ARA/AgGateway Technology Contest will present cutting-edge technologies alongside a retailer customer who utilizes these technologies on the farm, in the field or in the office. Breakout session attendees will vote via text message at the end of the session to determine the 2013 ARA/AgGateway Contest Winner.

Winner Incentives:

The top two winning technology suppliers and a retailer customer of their choosing will each receive one complimentary conference registration and two nights’ hotel accommodations.

The winning supplier and retailer will be recognized during the Conference General Session, in the ARA Conference Program, on the ARA website, in AgProfessional Magazine, and on ARA social media channels.

Voting Rules:

ARA members are allowed to vote for 2 technologies. The voting process is meant to serve as guidance to staff and the ARA Technology Working Group* in determining the top two nominees. Voting ends Friday, September 27th.

USDA Data Shows Need For National Sodsaver Provision

Talia GoesAgribusiness, USDA

usda-logoRecently released USDA Farm Service Agency data demonstrates a rapid conversion of non-cropland to cropland. Center for Rural Affairs analysis of the 2012 data reveals the importance of inclusion of a national Sodsaver provision in the Farm Bill that would help address the significant loss of grasslands by ratcheting down subsidized crop insurance on cropland converted from native prairie.

“This data shows grassland and other newly broken land converted to cropland in 2012 totals nearly 400,000 acres across the country. Nebraska led the way with over 54,000 acres of new land broken out for cropland,” Traci Bruckner, Assistant Director of Rural Policy, Center for Rural Affairs.

According to Bruckner, the Senate version of the Farm Bill includes a national Sodsaver provision. The House version includes a Sodsaver provision as well, but it is limited to the portions of five states that are in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains.

“This data could not be more timely for the farm bill debate, nor could it more clearly make the case for a national Sodsaver provision,” noted Bruckner. Bruckner continued, “Of the five states with the most acres of land converted – Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Florida, and Iowa – only two have a small portion of the state in the Prairie Pothole Region, most of the states near the top of the list, and a majority of converted acres are outside that scope.”

Bruckner’s analysis concludes that limiting the Sodsaver provision to the five state Prairie Pothole Region would provide inadequate protection for native grassland.

Young Texas Trio Brings Technology to the Farm

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Conservation, USDA

wilderadoThe tales of young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs launching new ventures out of Silicon Valley are common. But what about three 20-something brothers who live – not in some high tech mecca – but near the small community of Wilderado, Texas, who started a new business venture?

The Gruhlkey brothers – Brittan, 24, Braden, 25, and Cameron, 20 – are farming cotton, corn, sorghum and wheat while showing how technology plays an important role in farming. The average age of Texas farmers is nearly 60 years old, making their enterprise a unique one and they’re doing this amid huge challenges, including an ongoing drought and a growing demand for water.

These technological advancements allow them to better water and feed their crops. Through subsurface drip irrigation, they can deliver water uniformly across the field and directly to the root of the plant to use water more efficiently. Through this irrigation system, they can schedule when plants are watered and eliminate overwatering.

In addition to this conservation work, the Gruhlkeys are also working with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to manage crop residue, rotate crops, plant cover crops, control weeds, provide plants for pollinators and use no-till and strip till methods. These efforts benefit their farm and the environment. They conserve resources, provide homes for pollinators, conserve soil moisture, maintain ground cover, prevent soil erosion and improve air quality.

BASF Launches New Mobile Website

Talia GoesAgribusiness, BASF

BASFBASF launched a new mobile platform, m.agproducts.basf.us, for U.S.-based Crop Protection products. This platform gives BASF customers and employees access to company and product information for use on all tablets and smartphone models.

The m.agproducts.basf.us website features full access to all BASF Crop Protection product information. This includes relevant product labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS). The Contact Us section has a Rep Finder option to allow customers to quickly find out the BASF representative for their location. This section also has Customer Service and Media Contact information available.

The Product section gives customers an A to Z listing of the BASF product portfolio. Each product features information on How It Works, Labeled Crops, Problems Controlled and a Research Library. The m.agproducts.basf.us platform allows users to share any of the information through social media including Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube.

USDA and Coca-Cola Partner

Talia GoesAgribusiness, USDA

usda-logoU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and Coca-Cola Americas President Steve Cahillane announced a public-private partnership to restore and protect damaged watersheds on national lands. Together these efforts aim to return more than a billion liters of water to the National Forest System – which provides drinking water to more than 60 million Americans. The announcement was made at Midewin Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois.

“By working together, we can better protect our nation’s watersheds and further enhance restoration efforts, even during challenging budget times,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Today’s partnership between Federal, private and non-profit partners is just one example of the strong collaboration that allows government to continue providing results for the American people.”

The new collaboration between government, business and community organizations, including the National Forest Foundation (NFF) and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), which have also contributed funding for these projects, will leverage collective expertise to address increasing challenges on water resources. Additionally, federal dollars spent on these projects have been matched two-to-one by Coca-Cola, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National Forest Foundation.

The U.S. Forest Service and Coca-Cola are committed to continuing their work together to sustain our nation’s water supply. The organizations signed an agreement formalizing their partnership to continue collaboration through 2018.

Mountains, Minds and Montana Precision Ag

Cindy ZimmermanEducation

MSU logoMontana State University is having what they plan to be the first of a new annual seminar on precision agriculture.

Coordinator Olga Walsh, an assistant professor of soil nutrient management who works at the Western Triangle Ag Research Center, is hoping to get 150-200 producers to attend the seminar, which will feature several important precision topics and a couple of experts in the field.

Robert Blair, who was the 2009 Precision Ag Farmer of the Year, will present his “Precision Ag Journey” and USDA-NRCS agronomist Pat Hensleigh will talk about “USDA-NRCS Nutrient Management Programs.”

The seminar is free and lunch is provided – check here for more info.