2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album Planting at U.S. Sugar Corporation is done with precision, as we found out on the 2014 CTIC Conservation in Action tour last week in the Everglades Agricultural Area. Steven Stiles, U.S. Sugar farm manager, says cane is a “ratoonable crop” which refers to the stalks that are called ratoons and normally one …
Barn Owls are Sustainable Rodent Control
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album Barn owls are being used in the Everglades Agricultural Area as sustainable rodent control – and it’s working amazingly well! Richard Raid, a plant pathologist with the University of Florida, told us all about these hungry little raptors during what was arguably the most interesting stop on the 2014 CTIC Conservation in …
Learning About Everglades STAs
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album This may just look like a swamp but it’s actually a very sophisticated stormwater treatment area in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) which is one of several designed to remove phosphorus from urban and agricultural runoff. These public works projects are the second point of cleanup for the water, while the farmers …
Analysis of Soil Samples Using LIBS
Science is fun. Let me explain. During the Vedesian Life Sciences Los Alamos Media Tour we learned about a cool soil sampling technology coined Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LBIS). In an attempt to not use to much technical jargon, LBIS is a focused pulse laser beam that generates a microplasma (think spec or dot). From here, the emission from the plasma …
Wind Turbine Up Close and Personal
The benefit of getting an up close and personal look at a wind turbine is the view from the top of the hill. It was a cloudy day but the view at Mackies Farm in Scotland during the 2014 IFAJ Congress was still beautiful. This farm has done an excellent job of branding and marketing its products and was the …
Ready to Promote New Holland Sustainable Farm Pavilion
The New Holland Bloggers. Sounds like it could be anything from a band to a social media team. New Holland does have a social media team but this group I’m talking about is made up of independent bloggers who were invited to Turin, Italy to learn about New Holland’s participation in Expo Milano 2015. You’ll get to meet them here …
University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo
During my trip to Italy last week one of our memorable stops was the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. That sounds like a foodies idea of a college! However, I have to note that the University was started by Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement. He has a rather interesting background according to this post in Wikipedia. …
Touring CNH Industrial Village
CNH Industrial Village was my first stop last week in Turin, Italy for New Holland Blogger Days. The facility was inaugurated in the fall of 2011 and is set up to sell, support and present the products of New Holland Agriculture as well as other CNH companies like Construction, Iveco and more. Outside there are lots of products on display …
CFWF Digs Deep into Video Journalism
“Dig Deep” was the theme for the Canadian Farm Writers Federation 2014 conference in Prince Edward Island, and professional development time was spent digging deep into using video, even if you are a print journalist. “Everybody (in journalism) has to be kind of a Swiss Army Knife now, you have to be able to do it all,” said Ian Petrie, …
New Holland Clean Energy Leader at Expo Milano 2015
During New Holland Blogger Days in Turin, Italy I met Carlo Lambro, Brand President (3rd from right). Before a fantastic dinner we sat down so I could interview him via ZimmGlass. I first asked him about New Holland’s decision to be a major supporter of Expo Milano 2015 and the Sustainable Farm pavilion they are constructing for next year’s event. …