AgriFlyNetwork Launches “Uber for Farmers” App

Kelly MarshallAerial Application, Agribusiness, Apps

In an industry with as much innovation as agriculture it’s a wonder when anything surprises, but AgriFlyNetwork has launched a rather unique idea. Their new app allows growers, retailers and crop experts to quickly and easily connect with ariel applicators through a platform they liken to ‘Uber for farmers.’ An assignment can be ‘pinned’ on a map, giving details of the job and then operators browse through, sending their profiles when they are interested. Then the growers chooses their preferred operator.

“In my career, I saw that there was a need for operators to reach employers more efficiently,” says Jeff Wagenknecht, Founder of AgriFlyNetwork, Inc. and industry veteran in aerial application. “Operators in the field tend to keep within their circle, and that can limit opportunities for work. AgriFly streamlines the process by allowing operators to grow their base by working outside of their usual radius, and by allowing growers to find reputable, qualified operators right in their backyard that they might not have found otherwise.”

AgriFly is offering a special deal for the first year of their app; growers and retailers using the program to find applicators can earn 15 cents per acre. Operators can get a discount on their subscription fee by signing up in the charter year as well.

1,000+ Members in FiberMax One Ton Club

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Award, Bayer CropScience, Cotton

The Campbells are shown here (left to right) with Kerry Grossweiller, Bayer campaign manager; Allen Gent, Bayer strategic business lead; Rachel Walters, Bayer Southern region marketing manager; Jason Wistehuff, Bayer U.S. Product Manager for FiberMax and Stoneville; Tracy Campbell, winning grower, Floydada, Texas; Wesley Campbell, winning grower, Floydada, Texas; Stan Warren, Bayer sales representative; and Monty Christian, Bayer vice-president for U.S. cotton operations. (PRNewsfoto/Bayer)

Bayer is pround to announce that the FiberMax One Ton Club now boasts a total of 1,049 growers. In 2016, 391 cotton growers from across the nation were honored for their four-bale and higher yields. All qualifying members have surpassed their state average by 2 and a half times, but Johnny Lindley from Lakeview, Texas leads the club with 3,059 pounds per acre. Craig McCloy of Morse, Texas holds the honors for highest acreage winner. He averaged more than 2,000 lb/A on 2,046 acres.

“This club is solid evidence of the success growers enjoy when they combine their knowledge and skills with our science – cottonseed varieties and inputs focused on increasing a grower’s opportunity for profit,” says Jason Wistehuff, U.S. product manager for FiberMax cotton. “The consistent yields of FiberMax are demonstrated with the growers who come back year after year.”

Of the 391 members who qualified for the 2016 crop, six growers qualified in 10 years or more and nine percent qualified in five years or more. Consistent performance across the FiberMax brand is definitively proven by the range of varieties with which growers qualified for the One Ton Club over the last 12 years.

“Growers have qualified for the FiberMax One Ton Club with 38 different varieties,” Wistehuff says. “Each time we add varieties to the FiberMax lineup, we add growers who made high yields in fields planted to those varieties.”

Food, Conservation Groups Invest in Soil

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Conservation, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Some major consumer and conservation organizations are working together to help create better soil health and enhance farm sustainability. A $2 million investment from General Mills will provide tools and resources for The Nature Conservancy, Soil Health Institute, and Soil Health Partnership to use in working with farmers, landowners, and supply chain leaders to create healthier soil while providing food for the world.

“The needs for advancing soil health are far greater than any single organization can provide – public or private,” said Wayne Honeycutt, President and CEO of the Soil Health Institute. “Soil health management systems can build resilience to drought as well as provide protection from other extreme weather events, such as flooding. In fact, when we increase soil organic carbon by a single percent – just 1 percent – we increase soil water-holding capacity by approximately 2,500 to 12,000 gallons per acre in many agricultural soils. These same soil health practices that are good for farmers can also improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance pollinator and other wildlife habitat. Partnering is the way we can achieve national scale of such benefits.”

Targeted outcomes include creating measurements and standards for improving soil health, increase adoption of beneficial practices by absentee landlords, coordinating activities for maximum impact, and supporting diverse constituents in public policy solutions.

GROWMARK Offers Advice to Protect Crops this Season

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Audio, Growmark, Herbicides, Insect Control, Insecticide, Planting, Scouting

It’s been a warmer, dryer winter than normal, says Tim Laatsch with the Agronomy Division at GROWMARK.  Combining that with the wet conditions many growers are experiencing this spring puts crops at risk.  The dry windows have provided opportunity to plant some early season corn, but corn isn’t the only thing growing in the field.

Winter annuals are also thriving, which causes concerns because their foliage provides a habitat for pests to lay their eggs. Of special concern is the cutworm, Laatsch tells us. Purdue has reported significant numbers of cutworms in the past three weeks so he suggests that growers be scouting that early corn very aggressively in the coming week or two.

Controlling the weeds is important, but two modern farming practices work against farmers when it comes to insect control. Vertical tillage requires a partner in the form of a strong herbicide and cover crops need a timely burn down, Laatsch cautions.

Disease control is anther area that growers should be attuned to this season, specifically when it comes to wheat. According to Laatsch, the flag leaf is critical and growers may need a second application at the vegetative state to protect its development and the yield potential of the plant. Scout, watch the weather, and be prepared, he advises.

Tim talks more about conditions this spring in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/growmark-laatsch-17.mp3″ text=”Interview with Tim Laatsch, GROWMARK”]

It’s Time for InfoAg

Kelly MarshallEvents, InfoAg

It’s time again! Time to register for InfoAg in St. Louis, Missouri. This year the precision agriculture conference will be July 25-27th in its traditional location at Union Station. Novices or veterans will each find plenty of information during the three plenary sessions, five tracks of breakout sessions, exhibit time, and networking opportunities.

Online registration is now open, or a downloadable form is also available.  Full registration includes meals and refreshments as well as program materials.  Single-day registrations may also be purchased.  Hotel registrations should be made separately.  Check the website for more information.

Mammoth Trading Presents Lesson in Water Markets

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Audio, water

Mammoth Trading’s President, Richael Young sat on a panel during the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference called, “Drought, Water Risk and the Context for Water Markets.” Drought risk management was positioned as a focal point as panelists discussed the water transaction outlook, water policy trends and the role of public versus private investment in water markets.

Mammoth Trading develops and operates market-based solutions to water resource challenges. Many places have active water markets but they are often decentralized and informal. Richael said they come in and help to reduce search and transaction costs for individuals.

“Mammoth Trading creates Smart Markets or electronic clearing houses that help automate the process of matching individuals who are interested in buying and selling water rights and automating the process of regulatory compliance,” Richael said.

There are a number of transactions people can make around water including: water leases, permanent transactions, pooling, rotational agreements, inter-annual water exchanges, etc. During the panel, Richael shared how farmers have been utilizing water markets over decades and how we are just shedding light on the extent of those occurrences.

“Water markets have emerged informally as a tool for farmers and communities to share water resources. If you can give communities the tools to move water resources to when and where they are needed, a wealth of risk management is provided,” Richael said.

The future of water rights was also discussed. Richael said more and more we are trending towards ways to give individuals the flexibility to use their water resources to best fit their needs. “We are also looking at ways to develop water markets that work well for communities. It’s not about taking water from one basin and exporting it to another. This is about how we can use water locally in a way that works best for that community.”

Listen to Jamie’s complete chat with Richael to learn more about the water market history, some misconceptions and more on the future: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/water4food-17-young.mp3″ text=”Interview with Richael Young, Mammoth Trading”]

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Water for Food Global Conference Photos

Agrible Pocket Drone Control App Makes Drones Easy

Kelly MarshallAerial Imagery, Agrible, Agribusiness, Data, Scouting

The Pocket Drone Control app from Agrible is making it easier for growers to gather insights from ariel images. The new software works with Crop Copter’s UAVs to find damage in a field from weather or pests. The iOS app works with the Morning Farm Report suite of analytic tools that provide decision-making information about everything from when fields are ready for equipment to nitrogen levels and it is free with your current account.

Pocket Drone Control uses Morning Farm Report to seamlessly plan a flight and launch the drone with just a few swipes on an iPhone or iPad. It can cover an 80-acre field in less than 15 minutes, all on one battery with life to spare. After the drone takes photos, you can quickly classify damage as hail, disease, drift, flooding, etc on your mobile device, even if you don’t have a data connection. Then, the information uploads to Morning Farm Report where you can access and share it at any time.

“Aerial survey can provide invaluable insights for crop insurance adjusters, ag service providers, and growers,” said Jack Marck, Product Engineer at Agrible. It’s a unique perspective of their crop that has historically been expensive or even impossible to get.”

Knoa Helps GROWMARK Boost Performance

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Data, Growmark, Software, technology

Knoa Software is pleased to announce that GROWMARK, Inc. is utilizing SAP® User Experience Management (SAP UEM) to increase user adoption and improve performance of its applications.

“This is a groundbreaking project that further confirms our commitment to supporting SAP enterprise solutions,” said Brian Berns, CEO of Knoa Software. “We are very pleased to help GROWMARK identify and proactively address user experience issues, and look forward to supporting them throughout their entire journey with SAP software.”

GROWMARK began rolling out SAP software in 2015 and uses the SAP UEM application to help monitor user behavior and system performance/processing times for applications running in the cloud environment.

“This solution enables us to apply real analytics to any problems we encounter, rather than having to rely solely on feedback from our users,” said GROWMARK’s Steve Whaley, SAP Basis and senior database administrator for the company. “If an employee complains that the system is slow, we can now see the exact processes that are causing issues. SAP UEM will provide tremendous value as we continue to roll out new applications.”

Knoa is an SAP partner whose user experience management solution is resold by SAP as an SAP Solution Extension. SAP UEM sheds light on application usage, user adoption and user workflows, helping customers protect and maximize investments in SAP applications and upgrades.

Read more here.

Wet Weather Sends Planters to the Shed

Kelly MarshallCorn, Cotton, Planting, Sorghum, Soybeans, USDA

It’s discouraging when the writer in the family is busier than the farmer, but if your planter was in the shed this week take solace– so was ours.  And since misery loves company, here’s the latest USDA report showing national corn planting progress falling behind last year and the five year average.

Texans are doing well, with more than 60 percent planted and ahead of schedule but Kansas is well behind at just nine percent when the average is twice that. Illinois at six percent is half the average and Missouri has only 17 percent of the crop planted compared to the average of 25 percent and last year’s record progress at this time when over half of the crop was already in the ground.

Cotton planting is running right around the five year average at eight percent and sorghum is also about average at 21 percent.

Irrigation Pumps Move Africans Out of Poverty

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Audio, Food, Irrigation, water

Now founder and CEO of KickStart International, Martin Fisher went to Africa for one year.  Seventeen years later he was still in Kenya, finding ways for technology and engineering to make a difference.  Martin presented what he’s learned at the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference where Jamie was able to sit down with him to hear his story of the challenges of farming in sub-saharan Africa.

Through those years Martin came to the simple conclusion that when you are poor anywhere around the world your #1 need is a way to make more money, thus KickStart International was formed.  In sub-saharan Africa the majority of the poor are farmers, Fisher explained, therefore his mission focused on moving farmers from rain-fed farming to irrigated farming.

With the focus of low-cost irrigation, Martin and his team developed a line of human-powered irrigation pumps called MoneyMaker Pumps. The pumps are mass produced and distributed across Africa through small local retail shops. KickStart has a team to educate farmers about irrigation and its impact on their farms. Over 300,000 pumps have been sold globally, but the job isn’t done when a pump is sold. The team also tracks the impact the pump has on the family. Martin said well over 75% of the families take a major step out of poverty.

Listen to the complete interview with Martin here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/water4food-17-fisher-interview.mp3″ text=”Interview with Martin Fisher, KickStart International”]

Listen to his case study presentation during conference here: [wpaudio url=” http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/water4food-17-fisher.mp3″ text=”Case study on MoneyMaker Pumps”]

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Water for Food Global Conference Photos