Drones to Increase Profitability

Jamie Johansen

Kansas State University’s Dr. Kevin Price was one of the presenters at the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention. His presentation was titled Drones: Turning Technological Controversy into Profit. The use of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) to fly over crops and livestock to maximize profits is one of the hottest topics entering the agriculture sector. He shared how this …

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Technology

iPhone 5S vs. Galaxy S4 Mini

Chuck Zimmerman

How many of you received a new smart phone for Christmas? Just raise your hand. Hmm. Quite a few I see. How do you like it? What don’t you like? Feel free to chime in with your comments. I’ve played around with a lot of devices and have settled on two that I really like and thought I’d share some …

Gadgets, Technology

The ZimmGlass Project

Chuck Zimmerman

Like a story out of the future, except that it is now, comes The ZimmGlass Project. At least that’s what I’m calling it for now. What is it? We’re going to find out together over a period of time in which I experiment with Google Glass! Glass is basically a computer you wear on your face but that’s just just …

Agribusiness, Technology

Raven’s Commitment to Innovative Tech

Jamie Johansen

Raven Industries is always working on something. During the recent NAFB Convention’s Trade Talk, I met up with Raven’s Marketing and Business Development Manager, Ryan Molitor. He expressed Raven’s desire to continue to add new technologies to the precision marketplace as well as improve on their existing products. “One of the things we really invest a lot in is training …

Agribusiness, Audio, Media, NAFB, Precision Agriculture, Technology

John Deere Opens MyJohnDeere Platform

Jamie Johansen

At today’s NAFB Trade Talk, John Deere’s had a big announcement about their MyJohnDeere platform collaborating software developers and companies. Cindy spoke with Product Marketing Manager for John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group, Chris Batdorf, during the fast-paced event. “Last summer we introduced a product called Wireless Data Transfer and that helped to do away with the USB stick and seamlessly …

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, John Deere, NAFB, Technology

Hand-Held Grain Moisture Tester

Talia Goes

To help producers more accurately monitor the condition of their grain during harvest and in storage, John Deere introduces the GT-30300 Grain Moisture Tester. This new hand-held device provides direct readout of moisture and test weight for 20 different grains in seconds, without pre-weighing the samples, at the touch of a button. According to Barry Deiters, product manager with John …

Agribusiness, John Deere, Technology

iCropTrak Updates Improve Soil Sampling

Cindy Zimmerman

Cogent3D, makers of iCropTrak, have taken soil sampling to a whole new level for farmers this fall. Aaron Hutchinson, Cogent3D president and co-founder, says they took the best practices from their dedicated soil sampling apps and feedback from soil sampling customers to upgrade iCropTrak Soil Sampling capabilities. “iCropTrak is the third generation of our farming technologies that we’ve built,” he …

Audio, Farming, Technology

John Deere Supports Global Harvest Initiative

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the many agricultural companies represented at the World Food Prize symposium last week in Des Moines was John Deere, which is a member of the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) along with companies such as Elanco, DuPont Pioneer, and Monsanto. I spoke with Cory Reed, Senior VP of John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, about the release of GHI’s 4th …

Agribusiness, Audio, Elanco, John Deere, Technology, World Food Prize

NCGA Chair is TATT Roundable Alumni

Cindy Zimmerman

I was happy to see National Corn Growers Association Chairwoman Pam Johnson of Iowa at the World Food Prize symposium last week and interested to find out that she was a Truth About Trade and Technology Global Farmer Roundtable alumni. Pam had a seat at the global roundtable in 2010 and she was pleased to reconnect with some of her …

Audio, Biotech, Corn, NCGA, Technology, World Food Prize

Australian Farmer on TATT Roundtable

Leah Guffey

Australian farmer Andrew Weidemann along with his wife and youngest son attended the Wold Food Prize with Truth About Trade and Technologies (TATT) Global Farmer Roundtable. While chatting with Andrew outside of his roundtable role, I learned more about life on his farm in Victoria.  He and his brother are in a partnership along with their families.  They are also …

Audio, International, Precision Agriculture, Technology, World Food Prize