During this week’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, New Holland formally introduced the PLM RTK+ correction program, the first cellular-delivered RTK correction signal on the market, and several representatives were on-hand to discuss the diverse array of features and benefits this technology will offer producers across North America. “The big idea is that as our farmers and producers …
Ag Tech Accelerator Program Chooses AgVoice
AgVoice has been selected to participate in a nine-month program created by The Yield Lab, to support up and coming agriculture technology companies. AgVoice is a voice interaction service, created by TekWear LLC, which provides hands-free workflow management services which allows growers to capture insights when they’re on the go. The platform gives ag professionals the ability to record and …
NRGene Assists in Wheat Genome Sequencing
The bread wheat genome has now been sequenced. Wheat is one of the most widely grown cereals in the world, and the project will help accelerate global research into crop improvement. The project was led by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC). Using NRGene’s DeNovoMAGICTM software, the bread wheat variety Chinese Spring genome was assembled. The new data will …
Update on John Deere Acquisitions
Earlier this month John Deere announced a couple of big acquisitions that include Precision Planting and Monosem. During the NAFB convention I got an update on those from Barry Nelson. The Monosem purchase allows John Deere to expand their planter lineup on a truly global basis when included with the Precision Planting purchase. The brand names will be continued according …
Valent Selfie Stick for AgNerds
During the NAFB Convention I received a Valent Selfie Stick. I guess you would call it a VSS? Unfortunately I did not have time to visit with Valent during Trade Talk. But I did use the VSS for a photo I’ve already published. I’ve never had or used a selfie stick before. Using this one I got to thinking. I …
Missouri Ag Director Addresses Deere Conference
Missouri’s Director of Agriculture, Richard Fordyce, spoke to this week’s Develop with Deere conference during lunch. After talking about all the blue color on the street due to the Kansas City Royals parade he talked about the challenges facing farming in Missouri. A key issue he says is what consumers think about what farmers are doing. He says this filters …
DOT Announces Registration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that recreational users of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, must register their systems with the federal government. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially …
Total Factor Productivity Can Increase with Precision Ag
Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is a way to measure outputs versus inputs and the key tool of the annual GAP Report produced by the Global Harvest Initiative. This year’s report, “Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets,” was released during World Food Prize and John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with TFP. “So its …
Ag Biologicals Can Play Starring Role in Productivity
Colin Bletsky, Vice President of BioAg, Novozymes was a participate in the panel discussion following the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. In an interview, he says that Novozymes came on board with Global Harvest Initiative because the company has a mission to help develop sustainable technologies. Bletsky is also passionate about this mission in his role as …
John Deere Int’l Mobile Training Unit Sees Success
During the during the World Food Prize I had the opportunity to learn about a new mobile training unit pilot program from Geoff Andersen, director, Global Citizenship and Strategic Planning with John Deere. The unit was first used in Ghana and Kenya to help more than 60,000 farmers learn how to increase productivity. Andersen was in country to work with …