Electric Shock “Therapy” for Soil

Laura McNamara

All it takes to find out what kind of soils and elements are found in a plot of land is just a bit of electric charge. Veris Technologies has developed a method for determining soil ratios using electricity: “What we’re looking at here is using AC voltage or very low voltage injecting it into the soil with two electrodes,” Paul …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, Technology

Infrared Mapping for Carbon

Laura McNamara

Veris Technologies is doing what any committed any company specializing in agricultural technology should do: it’s thinking ahead and developing products it anticipates farmers will need in the near future. Representative Eric Lund says that’s why Veris has developed near infrared mapping. The technology is designed primarily for mapping soil carbon, a need that Eric explains might not be relevant …

Agribusiness, Audio, Environment, Farming, Research, Technology

Getting Smart with the Smart Nozzle

Laura McNamara

The Smart Nozzle does exactly what it sounds like it does. It’s a boom nozzle that can operate independently during sprayer operations. John Harrison Jr. is the Product Engineer for Harrison Technologies(pictured far left) and is the brainchild behind this innovative, yet “why-didn’t-I-think-of-this” technology. “The smart nozzle takes existing technology for precision agriculture of boom control with the boom sections …

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, Technology, Video

Forecasting for Farming Success

Laura McNamara

There are two kinds of information that are important for Pessl Instruments: “ground truth” and expected forecasts. The Austria-based company claims that it offers a one-of-a-kind tool for farmers: “What we do is we measure the ground truth,” Gottfried Pessl, President of Pessl Instruments said. “That means what’s going on actually on the field of the farmers but we now …

Agribusiness, Audio, Environment, Equipment, Farming, International, Technology, Weather

Tour of the Chortí Maya Agricultural Training Center

Laura McNamara

I made it to La Ceiba on the north coast of Honduras. The city is much more set up for tourists and I was able to wander into a local resort and get a good enough connection to load some more video. Finally! So, for those of you interested in getting a better look at the ag program Billy Collins …

Agribusiness, Farming, Food, International, Technology, Video

Ag Steward of the Chortí Maya

Laura McNamara

There is a group of indigenous people in Honduras that live off an average of $300 a year… less than one dollar a day. At least two months out of every year they starve. That’s the reality as Billy Collins sees it. Billy has been working with the Chortí Maya, the direct descendants of the Mayan Indians, for five years. …

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Corn, Education, Environment, Farming, Food, Forestry, International, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Monsanto Technology Showcase

Chuck Zimmerman

Monsanto is conducting the 2008 Technology Showcase as a tour of stops in 13 midwest locations. I’ve got the opportunity to attend tomorrow’s event in Alleman, IA. I just like saying Alleman, don’t you? So you can expect some interviews and pics right here on AgWired as we see what’s new in the world of agribusiness from Monsanto. Here’s why …

Agribusiness, Technology

Mapping with GK Technology

Laura McNamara

If you want application maps for your fields, then you might want to consider GK Technology for Agriculture. Kelly Sharpe is an agronomist for GK and he says his company offers a full service GIS package to growers. What does that mean exactly? Kelly says GK is able to take yield data and convert them into application maps that can …

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, Technology

Getting to Know an AGCO with Precision

Laura McNamara

If you ask Joe Tebis, AGCO is the company to go to if you’re looking for products that offer leading variable rate applications. Now, Joe is the product manager for precision ag products for AGCO, so he might be a little biased. He says he’s particularly proud of AGCO’s Terragator and RoGator product lines. These products are just some of …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, Technology

Manage Variability with SSToolbox

Laura McNamara

SST puts it quite succinctly: Manage data. Harvest Information. The global provider of Geographic Information System (GIS) software is offering what it calls the “Premier Desktop GIS for Agriculture.” The company boasts that its SSToolbox lets growers gather valuable information such as yield data and soil data and use it to determine the variability that exists within their fields and …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, Technology