Registration is open for the AgChat Foundation’s 2013 Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference. This year’s conference will be held August 22-23 at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you are wondering how you can share your passion for agriculture online with others, then this is a great opportunity to learn how to tell your farm or ranch story. Up …
World Backup Day
Happy Easter which is falling on World Backup Day. Have you taken the pledge? The World Backup Day Pledge I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st. I will also tell my friends and family about World Backup Day – friends don’t let friends go without a backup. It is very important that you …
Smart Machine Technology Growing Bigger Farms
Dr. Terry Kastens is an Emeritus Professor from Kansas State University. He’s back to farming now and spoke during a Learning Center Session at Commodity Classic sponsored by John Deere. The session topic was “Better Data, Better Decisions: the ROI of Smart Machine Technology. One of the first points Dr. Karstens makes is that every new technology requires an investment. …
XL Solutions at Raven Industries
Experts in Raven Industries’ applied sciences division have been busy bringing new and innovative technologies to the door step of growers across the country. The 2013 Commodity Classic was the place to display these new products and Raven Industries was there to do so. I spoke with Paul Welbig who oversees a lot of the product management issues at Raven. …
Taking a Look Back at Agriculture From the Future
Let’s pretend we’re in the future as in 2025 or 2050 and take a look back at agricultural production. Let’s do it with Rich Kottmeyer, Senior Executive and Global Agriculture & Food Production Leader, Accenture. That’s what we watched Rich do on stage during the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum and that’s what I asked him to do when we …
One Goal App For Poultry Industry
No one can argue that technology makes things easier and for poultry veterinarians and nutritionists, Novus International has a new app, called One Goal, to do just that. At last week’s International Production & Processing Expo, Dr. Marco Quiroz, poultry veterinarian for Novus, shared how the app can revolutionize how information is gathered in the field allowing vets and nutritionists …
Enzymes in the Making at Verenium
Two years ago Novus International announced the partnership with Verenium. This partnership has focused on bringing new enzyme solutions into the animal nutrition industry. Jamie Levine, president and CEO of Verenium, was present for this year’s International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, GA. I met up with him and discussed what this collaboration means for animal agriculture and what …
More Power to You at Iowa Power Show
With more than a century of history, the Iowa Power Farming Show has become the third largest farm show in the United States, according to show director Tom Junge. “We have over 300,000 square foot of exhibit space and about 750 exhibitors,” Junge said. “One thing we take pride in is we have all ag displays. We have three different …
FarmLogs Obtains Seed Funding
More mobile farm applications are coming. This one from FarmLogs. FarmLogs, the Michigan startup and Y Combinator alum that helps farmers digitally manage their farm to increase profitability, today announced that it has closed a $1 million seed funding round co-led by Huron River Ventures and Hyde Park Venture Partners. Hyde Park Angels, Silicon Badia Ventures, and First-Step Fund participated …
Managing Your Equipment Maintenance
There are lots of companies that have developed products or services without realizing how valuable they may be to the agricultural industry. In this week’s program we’ll meet one of them, eMaint Enterprises. I had an enjoyable conversation yesterday with Rona Palmer. When it comes to farming, eMaint offers farmers a system to keep track of equipment maintenance and it …