The future forecast for USDA is cloudy. USDA announced last week that it is on the verge of going live with a commercial cloud service offering for its Enterprise Messaging Service (EMS) which includes email, web conferencing, document collaboration, and instant messaging. USDA is the first cabinet-level agency to move its e-mail and collaboration applications to the “cloud,” a rapidly …
Free iPhone App on Cyber Monday
On Cyber Monday you iPhone people can get a freebie. Join the nearly 1,000 who already have the first agricultural news media app for the iPhone – the AgWired iPhone App. The app offers one-touch access to all the latest news and information in the agribusiness and agricultural marketing world posted on Agwired.com, including audio, photos and video, and connections …
NASS Using iPads in 2011 To Collect Data
Straight from the USDA Blog we find out that the National Agricultural Statistics Service will begin using iPads to collect data in 2011. Now how cool is that? There are benefits as you’ll read in the post. It looks like they’re already employing them since in the photo you can see Don Phillips, NASS interviewer, using an iPad for data …
Time For An International AgChat Foundation?
The emcee for the Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable conducted by Truth About Trade & Technology was Bob Thomson once again. He says the participating farmers were looking at what it’s going to take to thrive in the next several years. High on their list is modern technology. He says they realize that to feed the projected population equivalent of …
Testing and Conditioning Seeds
I was fascinated to see the Iowa State University Seed Science Center which was a tour stop for the TATT Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable. One of our hosts was Michael Stahr, Seed Laboratory Manager. The first thing that really got my attention was their herbarium which contains over 6,000 vials of seeds that date back to when George Washington …
Simultaneous Livestock and Ethanol Production
One of the places visited by the TATT Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable was Couser Cattle Company. Our host was Bill Couser. Bill conducted a fascinating presentation about his marriage of row crop farming (corn/soybeans), livestock production and ethanol production! You can see a portion of his explanation in the video below. He used a long table to display all …
TATT Roundtable Underway
The TATT Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable is now in session. This is a discussion which will take place this evening and continue tomorrow morning with a concluding lunch. After introductions we’re now involved in a discussion about issues like the growing world population and challenges faces farmers who are trying to produce food to feed them all. I’m listening …
E-85 Fuelfinder App From Renewable Fuels Association
The Renewable Fuels Association just announced a new iPhone app – E-85 Fuelfinder (opens iTunes) to help flex-fuel drivers access the latest, most accurately geo-coded E85 stations throughout the United States. Can you say, E85 fuel? There’s an app for that! Hurry to get yours since it won’t be free for long. This application will also work on the iTouch …
PureSense Adds Irrigation Manager iPhone App
PureSense Environmental Inc. announced that its Irrigation Manager iPhone application is now available through the iTunes App Store. Built as a mobile platform for PureSense subscribers, the PureSense app brings the reporting power growers have come to expect from Irrigation Manager to the iPhone, allowing the grower to be more informed, efficient and mobile than ever before. Growers can access …
Fluidigm Introduces First Reusable Bio-Chip
Fluidigm Corporation held a joint press conference this morning with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to announce their new reusable bio-chip architecture which is a first for the commercial market. These reusable integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) will dramatically lower SNP genotyping costs and are designed to support accelerated sample throughput, while maintaining data quality of 99.75 percent or greater accuracy …