Barriers to Using Precision Ag

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyHave you seen Joe Neighbor in town at the local precision ag dealer, asking questions, smiling and nodding his head, followed by a hand-shake … then a month or so later, in the cab of his tractor multi-tasking on different screens while talking on his smart phone? Did you wonder how he knew what questions to ask regarding what was best for his operation and better yet, how he ever got started?

Well, Ag Leader Technology has been in the precision ag field for more than 20 years and would like to address a few of these common adoption hurdles.

Obstacle #1: COST
Up front, precision ag might feel like a large chunk of change. There’s the investment cost of the equipment, the time involved for you to learn how to use the equipment, and the time it will take to see your return on investment.

Time is of the essence, especially during busy planting and harvest seasons. Talk to your Ag Leader dealer today about what’s right for you. They offer the complete package of precision farming tools, allowing you to get started with technology based on your comfort level and your needs.

They also have a leasing program that might be right for you.

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New Version Of Cloud-Based Monitoring Software

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Software

onset-logoOnset announced a new, enhanced version of the company’s HOBOlink web-enabled software platform that provides 24/7 data access and remote management for Onset’s web-based HOBO U30 data logging systems.

HOBOlink now makes accessing building performance and weather data faster and more convenient than ever. It enables users to schedule automatic delivery of exported data files, in CSV or XLSX format, via email or FTP. And, users now have the flexibility to configure the data export in a highly customized way. For example, a user who has four HOBO U30 systems measuring multiple parameters may configure HOBOlink to automatically export temperature data only – and within a specified time range. This speeds up data analysis time and enables users to focus only on the data that’s important to them.

40 Under 40 Award: Nominate Today

Talia GoesAgribusiness

40under40Vance Publishing’s 40 Under 40 Awards will recognize the young leaders in our industry who will be instrumental in meeting the 2050 challenge. We’re seeking the most innovative people in agriculture under the age of 40 – from animal and crop production, biotechnology and University researchers to food and nutrition technology, agricultural equipment, agronomy and beyond.

To be eligible for the 40 Under 40 Awards, individuals must be nominated by a colleague or fellow professional active within America’s food system. Nominees must be 40 years or younger by July 30, 2013. Deadline for nomination is July 30, 2013.

Examples of qualifying businesses:

  • Produce production or production supply, transportation (fresh cut or processing)
  • Food animal production – Farm, ranch, feedlot, dairy, pork production unit, crop farm, veterinarians, nutritionists, consultants
  • Processors – packers, meat or milk processors, retailers,fruit and vegetable processors
  • Food safety, quality and production research
  • Food (fruit and vegetable, food animal) transportation
  • Associations and non-governmental organizations
  • Academia and extension
  • Government and allied industry organizations

Preview of Open Data for Agriculture Conference

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Data Collection, Government, USDA

Dr. Catherine WotekiUSDA just held a preview press conference for next week’s G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture. On the phone with the press were USDA Chief Scientist Dr. Catherine Woteki and Dr. Simon Liu, Director of the National Agricultural Library. There are plans to do live streaming during the conference and people are encouraged to tweet about the conference with the hashtag, #OpenAgData.

open-dataThe conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., will bring together innovators from all over the world to discuss the importance of open agricultural data to increased food security across the globe, as well as in opening doors for public/private partnerships and economic growth. Woteki and Liu will explain that data is among the most important commodities in the world. By making our data accessible and encouraging others to do the same, we will enable collaborations of data users that will spur innovation and drive economic growth. A number of African countries will be represented at the conference and Woteki and Liu will preview some of the announcements expected to be made during the event.

You can listen to or download the press conference here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/usda/usda-presser-open-data-4-25-13.mp3″ text=”USDA Open Data Conference Presser”]

USDA Renews Dairy MOU for Sustainability

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Dairy, sustainability, USDA

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today renewed a historic agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate the adoption of innovative waste-to-energy projects and energy efficiency improvements on U.S. dairy farms, both of which help producers diversify revenues and reduce utility expenses on their operations. The pact extends a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.

usda-logo“Through this renewed commitment, USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy will continue research that helps dairy farmers improve the sustainability of their operations,” Vilsack said. “This vital research also will support the dairy industry as it works to reach its long-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.”

The Secretary was joined on a conference call to make the announcement by The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy CEO Tom Gallagher and Doug Young, a farmer from NY who has benefited from this MOU.

USDA support for agricultural and waste-to-energy research has played a key role in the agreement’s success to date. Since signing the MOU, USDA has made nearly 180 awards that helped finance the development, construction, and biogas production of anaerobic digester systems with Rural Development programs, such as the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, Value Added Producer Grants, amongst others. These systems capture methane and produce renewable energy for on-farm use and sale onto the electric grid. Additionally, during this period, USDA awarded approximately 140 REAP loans and grants to help dairy farmers develop other types of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems at their operations.

Also, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has provided $257 million in funding since 2009 that has helped more than 6,000 dairy farmers plan and implement conservation practices to improve sustainability. NRCS support for the dairy industry has resulted in 354 on-farm and in-plant energy audits as well as 18 conservation innovation grants for dairy-related projects during the past three years.

Listen to the call here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/usda/usda-dairy-mou.mp3″ text=”USDA/Dairy MOU press call”]

Celebrity Media Attention

Talia GoesZimmPoll

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is the #1 thing you look for on a food label?”

Our poll results: Nineteen percent said other, sixteen percent said Low Sodium, fourteen percent Don’t Read Labels, thirteen percent said Reduced Fat, ten percent said Saturated Fat Content, and we had a tie at nine percent saying Non-GMO and Organic. Three percent said Heart-check Mark, Fat Free, and No Synthetic Hormones and one percent said All Natural. The majority of our viewers chose Other. Based on responses, “other” constituted calories, carbohydrates, and ingredients. Evidently our viewing audience has a different outlook than the audience being interviewed by media about the “big debates” such as antibiotics, hormones, and non-GMO foods.

Untitled

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Does celebrity media attention sway your purchasing/listening/watching decisions? (e.g. Carrie Underwood supporting HSUS)?” Recently in Tennessee, Carrie Underwood has been a big voice for HSUS by publicly pressuring the Governor to veto a bill that would possibly end undercover investigations of animal abuse in the state. Carrie has used Twitter to its fullest, tweeting “@BillHaslam It’s not all about big business. Please look out for the little guys! Show TN that you have a heart…#NoAgGag”. She goes on to explain to questioners and agvocates that she is not against agriculture just against animal abuse. Would you not purchase a ticket to a Carrie Underwood concert based on her recent rant? Let us know.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

Preparing for InfoAg 2013

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Education, Events

infoaglogoInfoAg 2013 will be held July 16-18 in Springfield, Ill., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. InfoAg continues to be the premier precision agriculture event for producers, consultants, and the crop production industry. For 2013, we will feature four tracks of concurrent sessions with two tracks repeating to allow attendees to hear more of the presentations while offering a wide variety of topics. Mark your calendar and make plans to join us.

InfoAg earned its reputation as the premier precision ag conference through its high-quality educational program and speakers. This year’s conference will build on that reputation as we offer a wide variety of topics with speakers knowledgable and experienced in their field. Take a look at the program and plan your personalized conference itinerary.

* Chuck will be blogging from the event and on July 17th, 3 o’clock p.m. he will be presenting a social media tools workshop.

VAULT HP for More Precise Soybean Nitrogen Fixing

John DavisAudio, BASF, seed, Soybeans

becker-berndtOne of the biggest concerns for any ag operation is getting the most out of your inputs. During the recent tour of BASF‘s newly acquired Becker Underwood St.Joseph, Mo. seed facility, Russ Berndt, product manager for legumes and northern crops for Becker Underwood, talked about the symbiotic relationship soybeans have with the living organism rhizobia, a soil bacteria that fixes nitrogen for soybean plants. While the rhizobia are naturally occurring, they’re not always the right kind for soybeans to get the most out of the nitrogen relationship. That’s where Becker Underwood’s VAULT HP and its compounds come in.

“One of them is a compound that stimulates the rhizobia so that they send signals to the plant to produce more [nitrogen-producing] nodules sites,” adding that another component is INTEGRAL, a biological fungicide that gives more protection for the plants. Russ says that while inoculant technology is not necessarily new, VAULT HP’s approach differs from the old days of the dusty black powders. Liquid concentrations allow more rhizobia to be in each treatment. “It’s now very convenient. Growers can have it put on their seed when they’re getting other seed treatments put on. They’re put on at a very low rate so the treater can put on multiple products. And the concentrations are high so the grower is getting a high count rhizobia along with all the other components of VAULT HP,” he says.

Russ goes on to say that not only are growers ensured a maximum nodulation on those roots with a surefire nitrogen fixer, they get a living biological in INTERGRAL that grows on the roots surface to provide protection throughout the season. It all adds up to a better bottom line.

“What we see as far as return on investment is growers are going to get a 5-to-1 or better return half the time and over 70 percent of the time, get at least a 2-to-1 return.”

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Russ here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/basf/becker-berndt.mp3″ text=”Russ Berndt, Becker Underwood product manager for legumes”]

Becker Underwood media tour photo album

Phosphorus Management Program

Talia GoesAgribusiness, USDA

APLE_VadasA more comprehensive and consistent system for modeling phosphorus loss is now available, thanks to work by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Phosphorus Index was originally a simple management tool developed to gauge the risk of phosphorus losses from agricultural fields. The original index has since been modified by individual states to incorporate local variations in soils, climate, management, and water quality goals. This resulted in widely different state-by-state phosphorus indices that were sometimes defined more by political boundaries than by watersheds or other regional variations.

To reduce these state-by-state discrepancies, Vadas and colleagues developed the Annual Phosphorus Loss Estimator (APLE), a user-friendly spreadsheet program that predicts field-scale phosphorus loss in runoff for a whole year. The revamped program can also be used in many different states to quantify field-scale phosphorus loss and soil phosphorus changes over 10 years for a given set of runoff, erosion, and management conditions.

IRM Calculator App

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Apps, NCGA

ncgaTo make updating refuge planting plans easier, the National Corn Growers Association now offers the Insect Resistance Management calculator in a handy mobile application.

To find out how the calculator works and why complying with refuge requirements is important to all farmers, Off the Cob spoke with NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmermann, a farmer from Rosendale, Wis. A strong advocate of the responsible use of biotechnology, he began by explaining what the tool actually does.

As a farmer, Zimmerman is familiar with the wide variety of refuge requirements and how broadly they can vary from product to product. Yet, while acting as a good steward of biotechnology does take effort, he notes that it benefits every farmer to do so. Zimmerman uses the IRM calculator on his own farm, and he explains that the IRM calculator app for smartphones and tablets provides a practical way to change plans without leaving the field.

“What I like about the IRM calculator smartphone app is that it makes it easy,” Zimmerman explained. “Farmers know that plans change for a number of reasons, mostly due to weather. The smartphone app allows you to account for these changes and adjust on the go.”

The IRM calculator app is available for the iPhone through iTunes. The Android app is available through Google Play. To access or download the NCGA calculator, please visit http://www.irmcalculator.com/.