Ideas Behind Precision: A Global Perspective

Laura McNamaraAudio, Education, Events, International, Standards

Dr. Rajiv Khosla, Chairman of the 9th International Conference on Precision AgricultureThere is no one idea or definition of precision agriculture if you ask Dr. Rajiv Khosla. Raj chaired the 9th annual International Conference on Precision Agriculture earlier this month in Denver, CO. I attended the conference and, while there, I managed to gather more information on precision than I know what to do with… and there was still an immeasurable amount of information I didn’t even get to touch. Everything I did manage to gather though will be parceled out and posted here, on precision.agwired.com. So, in the coming weeks, look forward to a wealth of ideas on precision ag science, innovations and applications from experts around the globe.

The first you will hear from is Raj. Raj opened the conference, challenging presenters and attendees alike to think about what, exactly, is precision agriculture. Raj challenged listeners to consider whether precision techniques are only related to technology, innovation, developed countries and large acreages or if they can also include the intercultivation techniques of a single farmer with just a half acre field, who walks through every row using a single wheel and single hoe, his optical sensors amounting an instrument no more complex than his own two eyes.

Raj estimated there were between 450 and 500 participants in this year’s conference, with 250 oral and poster presentations, 34 concurrent sessions on a plethora of precision topics and representatives from 43 distinct countries.

“I think that’s really amazing and very impressive to be able to attract so many people from diverse backgrounds with unique and rich experiences related to precision agriculture,” Raj said.

The precision expert and educator suggests that precision agriculture consists of ideas, technologies and solutions that depend upon where in the globe they’re practiced. He says precision “technology” can, in fact, be quite different from one country to another.

Simply put, precision ag is “the right input at the right time in the right place in the right manner.”

Raj urged listeners to think of precision ag as “something that’s not relative to one place but something that has a place everywhere on this planet.”

“What could be a better time than now to take advantage of precision agricultural technologies when the world is witnessing the largest rise in food prices, energy prices, input prices and the demand and supply of food to the hungry mouth,” Raj said. “Something to think about. I think it is an opportune time for us to take advantage of precision agriculture here and everywhere else.”

You can listen to Raj’s remarks here:
Dr. Rajiv Khosla speaks about his idea of what is precision agriculture.

Ag Expo to Debut in Orlando 2010

Laura McNamaraAudio, Events, International

agconnect.jpgThe Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced its plans to host a new international agricultural exposition. The AEM says event will showcase leading innovation and technology within the ag sector and provide a forum for interaction with industry experts. Mark your calendars for the first-ever Ag CONNECT Expo January 12-15, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Manufacturers, dealers, distributors and producers from almost every sector of agriculture want to be globally competitive. At AG CONNECT Expo, they will have knowledge-sharing opportunities to better evaluate their position in the world marketplace while networking in a global environment and learning how to gain a competitive advantage.

AG CONNECT Expo will provide industry professionals with insights into U.S. and international ag policies as well as management best practices that producers are using around the world. “Our goal is for AG CONNECT Expo to become the forum for sharing global agricultural ideas and management trends,” O’Brien noted.

Education is a key focus of the show. In addition to showcasing a wide variety of new equipment, technology and services, AG CONNECT Expo will offer information on some of agriculture’s most important business management issues. Internationally recognized speakers will address topics such as high-tech farming, safe equipment operation, alternative fuels, alternative energy sources, general management issues for efficiency and issues pertinent to family-run businesses.

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – into the future.)

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – agriculture comes together.)

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – within their operations.)

Dennis Slater (OQ – bring the industry together.)

Dennis Slater (OQ – other industry professionals.)

Hand-Harvested is now Precision Harvested with John Deere

Laura McNamaraAudio, Equipment, Resources, Software

rjohnson01a.jpgTracking labor performance and product quality now comes at the touch of a button… or the flash of a scan rather. The all-in-one Labor Performance and Product Quality Management Systems, one of the newest products from John Deere Agri Services, boasts unmatched data collection for hand-harvested crops. The hand-held device measures crew output and productivity, harvest performance, and crop quality, quantity, location, attributes and more through the use of barcodes on worker IDs, RFID tags and GPS field location. All information and data is then instantly uploaded to a specialized website accessed through unique user and password information. John Deere says the bottom line is, the device allows farmers to, well, increase their bottom lines by giving them more control and manageability over production and workers alike.

I spoke with Richard Johnson (pictured left), the National Account Manager of Production and John Deere Agri Services about the Labor Performance and Product Quality Management Systems. You can listen to my interview with Richard here:
Listen to MP3 file Richard Johnson Interview Interview (7 min. mp3)

Global Discussion on Precision in Denver

Laura McNamaraEvents, International

preag.JPGExperts from around the world are gathering in Denver, CO this week. The 9th annual Precision Ag Conference officially kicked off today with it’s welcoming reception. The conference will continue through Wednesday, July 23rd. Experts from around the globe will be presenting the latest techniques in precision farming technology. During the reception this evening, I spoke with precision experts from South Africa, India and Egypt. So far, the general idea seems to be that the U.S. is the leader in developing precision technology while the rest of the world puts it to use. We’ll see if that’s really the case.

I’ll be covering the conference in Denver this week. Updates will be posted on precision.agwired.com, and most of the content will be used for continued posting on the precision ag Website.

I must say, the reception on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Regency boasted spectacular views of the Rockies. A few of us couldn’t tear ourselves away from the stunning sunset over the mountains and foothills.

Precision comes to Denver

Laura McNamaraEvents

preag.JPGDenver, Colorado is the place to be to learn more about Precision Ag this weekend. I’ll be attending the conference to learn the latest in precision technology. The 9th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) is being held at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colorado July 20–23, 2008.

The ICPA has embarked on a new journey. After about 16 years in Minnesota, the Conference is moving to a new location. The mile-high city of Denver is excited to host the next ICPA Conference in its technological hub “The Denver Tech Center.”

The 9th International Conference on Precision Agriculture is envisaged to be the largest ever; with more than 500 attendees from all over the United States and 35 countries. The summer month of July is a gorgeous time of the year to be in beautiful Colorado. Surrounded by the Rocky Mountain National Park on the West to the Great Plains on the East, Denver is nestled in the heart of the USA.

Check back here throughout the weekend for updates. I will also be gathering information to use for later posts.

California College Breaks Ground On Center for the Future of Ag

Laura McNamaraEducation, Precision Ag in the News

Western Farm PressCollege students in Salinas, CA will soon have a fresh, new laboratory for agricultural study. Western Farm Press reports that Hartnell College has broken ground on its new Center for Applied Technology. The 40,000-square-foot, $23 million facility will house the college’s Agricultural and Business Technology Institute along with other career and technical education programs.

“We need to make sure that in addition to the world’s biggest fresh garden that we are the world’s freshest laboratory,” said Dennis Donohue, Salinas mayor, at the groundbreaking. “That will take place here.”

The new facility illustrates Hartnell’s commitment to the fact that agriculture is the economic backbone of the community, said Jim Bogart, co-chair of Hartnell College’s ag steering committee.

“We are committing resources and industry expertise into the facility and its agricultural curriculum because there’s a future in agriculture,” Bogart said.

Click here to read the entire article.

Auto-Steer a Precision Favorite

Laura McNamaraEquipment, Precision Ag in the News

inpf.pngFarmers are touting auto-steer technology among the best of precision farming applications. The Indiana Prairie Farmer reports that the farmers reporters spoke with during farm management tour stops stressed auto-steer capabilities as priceless.

In fact, statements like “I wouldn’t let you take it away from me” flowed freely during tour interviews. Besides the tangible benefits, including saving from overlap and spraying more precisely, the benefit that it’s not possible to put a dollar sign on came up quite often.

That’s how freeing yourself from doing the driving and concentrating on rows or markers leaves you much fresher late in the day. How you measure not being so tired in terms of dollars and cents is a factor even ag economists haven’t conquered yet, but farmers insist it’s real and that it’s important. And the older the farmer running it, like a parent or grandparent, the more important that factor becomes, they note…

It was auto-steering that kept coming back as the most favorite technology at the tour. Some folks still use the free WAAS signal, but those serious about using it for precise operations, like planting, are either using a satellite subscription signal or obtaining an RTK signal. Precision Partners, a technology firm located near Flat Rock, now ahs a series of stations mounted on various towers that broadcast RTK signals. For a fee they allow customers to pick up the signal and use it for guidance.

Click here to read the entire article.

Purdue Prepares for Precision at Annual Workshop

Laura McNamaraEvents

41st Top Farmer Crop WorkshopPurdue is preparing for its 41st Top Farmer Crop Workshop this month. The workshop, which will be held July 20 – 23, is focusing on the future of farming and the ever-evolving ag industry. Speakers on a wide array of farming topics are sure to address precision technology as they delve into today’s modern farming techniques.

John Deere, specifically, will be addressing precision automation technology in the More Automation – More Work Accomplished breakout session Monday evening. Jamie Bultemeier and Andrea Grube will explain how farmers can “do more, and to do it faster and better!” A field demonstration will follow the informational session.

Wednesday will feature a look at robotic farming. Simon Blackmore, Project Manager of FutureFarm Europe and Director, UniBots Ltd Simon will present How Feasible is Robotic Agriculture?.

Simon has a worldwide reputation in developing intelligent machines and processes for crop production, and now he is running EU’s farm of tomorrow. With guidance, advanced monitoring and precision control systems becoming commonplace on farm equipment, what next steps will automation tackle in improving production or efficiency?

Click here to find out more about the event.

John Deere Precision Equipment Exemplary for TV

Laura McNamaraEquipment, Precision Ag in the News

WHNT NewsChannel 19A local television station out of Huntsville, Alabama has highlighted the changing face of agriculture on its daily newscast. WHNT NewsChannel 19 has recently featured farmers who are learning more about precision technology. WHNT found that farmers are calling traditional farming “a thing of the past.” Plus, they’re calling John Deere equipment “the perfect example” of cutting-edge farming technology.

“When people think of farming, they think of sweating out there,” says Ben Smith.

Smith is an Agricultural Management Specialist for Trigreen Equipment and says the idea most people have of traditional farming is a thing of the past.

The newest model of the John Deere tractor is the perfect example. It’s equipped with RTK, real time kinematic, technology.

It works by GPS satellite, so farmers can plant, spray, and harvest their crops, and the whole time just sit back while it drives itself on routes specifically programmed for the field. The accuracy is less than an inch.

“This is the most accurate you can get,” says Smith.

The tractor can pinpoint locations close enough to hit a golf ball. Smith says technology like this is becoming almost necessary.

“With the rising chemical and fuel costs that we have now and seed costs, we want to get more accurate,” says Smith. “If we can plant in the same place year after year, using the same route systems, then it will make our yields a whole lot better.”

Click here to find out what more farmers think about precision agriculture.

Precision Technology Promotes Sustainable Farming

Laura McNamaraPrecision Ag in the News

HealthNewsDigestThe population of conscious eaters is growing and more people are seeking foods produced from sustainable means. The HealthNewsDigest reports that precision agriculture is one of those sought after means of sustainable production. And, perhaps, a key tool in combating world hunger.

Sustainable agriculture — a term equated with organic farming less than a decade ago, may be the answer to the world’s future food challenge. Sustainable agriculture is neither energy-intensive industrialized farming, nor organic farming, but more a hybrid of the two that is highly productive and does not damage the environment.

Drawing on both industrial and organic farming methods, sustainable agriculture incorporates precision farming methods – super-efficient energy usage, water conservation, biological pest control, genetic modifications for qualities that improve nutritional value and drought resistance, and cultured meat – steak in a Petri dish. In the future organic products will become a subset of sustainable agriculture…

Advanced sustainable agriculture uses many of the standard applications of organic farming such as crop rotation, cover crops to reduce the need for fertilizer, and biological-control techniques in place of pesticides. But it goes further, using new super-efficient, precision agricultural tools and cutting edge technology. For example, drip irrigation systems linked to soil sensors to irrigate only when and where needed; satellite information and computer programs designed to detect evidence of pest damage; and wind turbines and other renewable energy technologies.

Click here to read more.