Reinke’s Partnership with NCTA in Curtis

Jamie Johansen

A skilled labor shortage is being addressed by providing student scholarships for workforce training for the manufacturing industry. And that is how Reinke Manufacturing’s partnership with the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) in Curtis comes into play. Reinke Manufacturing has teamed with NCTA to offer an Irrigation Technician Area of Concentration. This 34-credit, hands-on program helps students obtain knowledge …

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Education, Irrigation

Crop Water Use App Makes Farmers More Efficient

Kelly Marshall

Matthew Rhine from the MU Fisher Delta Research Center presented information about a new app at the recent Missouri Rice Council annual Rice Field Day at the Rice Research Farm in Campbell, Missouri. The Crop Water Use app, available from CropWater.org, is helping growers make the best use of their irrigation systems. “What we’ve done with the development of the …

AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, Irrigation, Rice

New Propane Irrigation Engines Available

Cindy Zimmerman

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has partnered with Origin Engines to develop new 5.7- and 6.2- liter engines, EPA-certified and optimized for industrial applications like irrigation and power generation. PERC invested in the research and development of Origin’s new engines, providing industry expertise and financial support through the research, development, and testing process for the new technology. “We …

AgWired Precision, Audio, Irrigation, Propane

Tevatronic Offers Cutting Edge in Irrigation

Kelly Marshall

Oleg Korol was a software engineer for the Israeli army when he simply tired of the work and decided to run Tevatronic instead. He looked at several companies before finding this technology that measures plant pressure on the soil to decide when to turn irrigation on, and water depth to decide when to turn it off. If we have autonomous …

Alltech, Audio, Irrigation, Technology

Moving Africa from Rain-Fed to Irrigated Farming

Jamie Johansen

Now founder and CEO of KickStart International, Martin Fisher, at first wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do with his life. A Fullbright scholarship took him to Africa for a year to look for the potential use of technology and engineering in development. That one year turned in to 17 years in Kenya. Martin presented his case study at …

Ag Groups, Audio, Food, Irrigation, Technology, Water, Water for Food

2017 #Water4Food is a Wrap

Cindy Zimmerman

Based on the theme that global breakthroughs come from local action, the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference was successful in bringing that perspective to water and food security issues. “Agriculture and water wherever you are in your locality, it’s going to be different,” said Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute executive director Peter McCornick. “But many of the factors …

Audio, International, Irrigation, Water, Water for Food

Water for Food Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 400 world experts working to develop new approaches to producing more food with less stress on water resources are in Lincoln, Nebraska this week for the 2017 Water for Food Global Institute at Nebraska Innovation Campus. A big focus of the event this year is finding ways to increase access to sustainable irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa with a …

Audio, Food, International, Irrigation, Video, Water, Water for Food

Remote Irrigation Monitoring Saves Time

Taylor Truckey

Tanner Oliphant, with AgSense, shared the latest with AgWired while at the National Farm Machinery Show last week. AgSense is a web-based service that gives growers access to their pivot and irrigation information through their smartphone or computer. AgSense released a new product this year that integrates specifically with Valley digital panels. Remote monitoring allows customers to see where a …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farm Machinery, Irrigation, National Farm Machinery Show, NFMS, Water

Propane Program Pays Off for Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

The Propane Farm Incentive Program paid off for participants last year, according to the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). PERC reports that participants of the program, which provides up to $5,000 toward the purchase of new propane-powered irrigation engines, reduced their per hour energy costs by more than 40 percent in 2014 compared with their previously owned diesel-fueled irrigation …

Audio, Irrigation, PERC, Propane, Video

Research Finds Propane Cuts GHG Emissions

Cindy Zimmerman

New research commissioned by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) finds that propane equipment cuts greenhouse gas emissions and reduces fuel costs. “A Comparative Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Propane and Competing Energy Sources,” prepared by Nexight Group, studied 14 applications to compare emissions from propane-powered equipment with emissions from conventional energy sources such as gasoline, diesel, and …

Farming, Irrigation, PERC, Propane