RFA Ethanol Podcast

Growing Options for Nutrient Management

Chuck Zimmerman

Keynote speaker Dr. Newell Kitchen, USDA-ARS, had a unique title to his presentation, “From Poking Holes to Precision Sensing: Options Growing for Nutrient Management.” He wanted to be clear that the options available to farmers today for managing nutrients are growing. He started out with a historical perspective on what has taken place in this area in recent years. One …

Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture

Remote Sensing Still Developing

Chuck Zimmerman

The first of the two keynote speakers at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is Dr. David Mulla, University of Minnesota. Dr. Mulla is a past chair of the conference btw. His topic was “Key Advances and Remaining Knowledge Gaps in Remote Sensing for Precision Agriculture.” So he talked about what we know and what we don’t know. It’s clear …

Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman

There are precision agriculture enthusiasts from 45 countries attending the 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture. This conference is held every two years and is taking place in Indianapolis, IN. To learn about what’s new for this year’s conference I spoke with Dr. Rajiv Khosla, Colorado State University, who is the President of the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), …

Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast

Precision Ag is Cloud Mobile

Chuck Zimmerman

Cloud management of data for precision ag applications and more is just a natural part of the continuing technology revolution and it is now here thanks to AgIntegrated which is launching their Onsite service very soon. To learn more about Onsite and AgIntegrated I spoke with Mike Santostefano, Director of Marketing and Business Development. Mike says that during the last …

Agribusiness, Audio, Internet, Precision Agriculture, Technology, ZimmCast

John Deere Mobile Weather

Chuck Zimmerman

Mobile weather sounds like it would be a high priority for farmers today. John Deere unveiled their version of it at the FarmSight Tech Summit. I visited with Janae Tapper, Product Manager in the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group about the product. For private and commercial applicators who need precise weather information in order to make proper product application and …

Agribusiness, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology, Weather

John Deere Announces MyJohnDeere.com

Chuck Zimmerman

Today John Deere announced MyJohnDeere.com and to learn a little about it I spoke with David Everitt, President, Agriculture and Turf Division. Dave has just announced his retirement from John Deere after a long career with the company. The announcements are being made at the John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit. David says this is the most exciting time to be …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

Precison Ag Puts Medicine on the Hurt Place

Chuck Zimmerman

We like new technology and we like our gadgets. We’re called AgNerds. And AgNerds are pretty open to precision agriculture. John McKee is one of us. John is a farmer of corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. He was a civil engineer prior to farming so precision ag has come natural to him. He was also one of the speakers on …

Ag Groups, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Precision Ag is a Conservation Tool

Chuck Zimmerman

During the 2012 Conservation in Action Tour the word “precision” came up multiple times. As precision ag continues to develop it is being seen as an effective tool for conservation plans and practices. One of our speakers addressed this subject. He’s Terry Griffin, farmer and also VP, Applied Economics for new precision ag company, CrescoAg. Terry says one example of …

Ag Groups, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Precision Agriculture

Monsanto Purchases Precision Planting, Inc.

Melissa Sandfort

In line with its vision of delivering yield to farmers sustainably, Monsanto Company announced it reached an agreement to purchase planting technology developer Precision Planting, Inc., a proven leader in improving yields through on-farm planting performance. The Precision Planting team will become part of Monsanto’s Integrated Farming Systems unit, which utilizes advanced agronomic practices, seed genetics and innovative on-farm technology …

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture

LightSquared Implements Voluntary Chapter 11 Restructuring

Melissa Sandfort

LightSquared announced that it commenced voluntarily reorganization cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to give it time to resolve regulatory issues that have prevented it from building its coast-to-coast integrated satellite 4G wireless network. The company fully expects to continue normal operations throughout this process. All LightSquared distribution partners and customers, including public safety, emergency response, government …

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture