Precision Ag News 3/5

The Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute issued a joint statement regarding the Trump administration’s announcement on tariffs on imports of Canadian goods.

American Seed Trade Association President & CEO Andy LaVigne issued a statement on the news of additional tariffs imposed between the United States and its trading partners.

Agtools, a leading provider of innovative software solutions for the food industry, announced the launch of its new tariff calculator. This powerful tool enables users to calculate tariffs across all commodities in real time and create scenarios that will impact supply, merchandising, and pricing.

The Davidson Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in agricultural engineering, was presented at Commodity Classic 2025, recognizing three groundbreaking innovations that are transforming modern farming. Now in its 8th year, the Davidson Prize—named after J.B. Davidson, the father of modern agricultural engineering—celebrates cutting-edge innovations that are shaping the future of agriculture. This award is a collaboration between ASABE and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers to recognize outstanding achievements in agricultural engineering. The 2025 Davidson Prize winners include:
Bondioli & Pavesi, Inc. – E.D.I. (Electronic Data Interchange) Driveshaft – This groundbreaking technology improves power transmission efficiency while providing real-time monitoring and diagnostics, ensuring optimal performance in the field.
PTx Trimble – OutRun – This cutting-edge solution enhances precision agriculture by providing advanced guidance and automation, improving efficiency, reducing operator fatigue, and maximizing yields.
CNH America – IntelliSense™ Bale Automation & Large Square Baler Automation – This technology revolutionizes hay and forage harvesting by automating key baling functions, ensuring consistent bale quality, reducing operator workload, and optimizing productivity.

The National Association of Conservation Districts has released a report about the impacts of recent Executive Orders and funding freezes on America’s locally led conservation delivery system, including conservation districts and the producers and communities they serve. The report was informed by a survey the association distributed to conservation districts last month, which received over 350 responses from across 45 states and territories.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced the launch of Yamaha Agriculture, Inc., a new company focused on delivering autonomous equipment and AI-powered digital solutions that help growers in the specialty crop market become more sustainable, profitable and resilient in the face of scarcer resources and climate change. Through the strategic acquisitions of Robotics Plus and The Yield, Yamaha Agriculture will provide robotics solutions for spraying, weeding and other field operations, while leveraging advanced data analytics and AI to enable precision farming and data-driven decision making for growers of wine grapes, apples and other specialty crops in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

A new industry collaboration announced at Commodity Classic is set to drive large-scale water conservation efforts across the agricultural landscape. The National Sorghum Producers, Ducks Unlimited and Dairy Farmers of America have partnered to create an initiative aimed at improving resource efficiency while ensuring economic viability for producers.

Bushel, a leader in digital payments and workflow solutions for agriculture, is expanding its platform with enhanced financial tools for farmers and agribusinesses. Farmers and agribusinesses will gain access to a Bushel business account, offered by The Bancorp Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp, Inc.

Farmers Edge™ is expanding its laboratory services to the public, offering agribusinesses, retailers and farmers access to high-quality, technology-driven soil and plant tissue testing. With state-of-the-art labs in the U.S. and Canada, Farmers Edge Laboratories has conducted over 7 million soil tests for its proprietary customers—now, retailers and industry professionals can access those same accurate, high-speed, integrated, and insight-driven services to maximize their business offerings. With centralized testing in Des Moines, Iowa, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Farmers Edge Laboratories can quickly and efficiently provide breakdowns of macro and micronutrients, soil chemistry and structure, and organic matter and soil composition. This information enables farmers to reduce input waste, increase crop yield, and maximize return on investment.

Traction Ag Inc., a leading farm accounting and operations software solutions provider, announced its new automated billing capabilities with FS. This strategic integration enables seamless synchronization of FS bills directly into Traction Ag’s cloud-based platform, significantly reducing manual data entry and keeping farm records up to date. The integration addresses a critical pain point in farm management by eliminating manual data entry – a time-intensive process that has long challenged agricultural operations. Through this innovative solution, farmers can now automatically import, review and approve FS billing data within their accounting system, saving valuable time.

Beck’s is pleased to announce the acquisition of Gro Alliance’s corn seed production facility in Howe, Indiana, and its soybean seed production and corn drying facilities in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. This strategic acquisition reinforces Beck’s commitment to providing high-quality seed and exceptional service to farmers across its growing marketing area. The transaction closed on February 26, 2025.

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