Young agriculturists from across the country entered this year’s National Ag Day Essay Contest in an effort to help promote the importance of agriculture throughout our country. Clara Knipp is from Tipton, MO and her essay titled, “Agriculture: 365 Sunrises and 7 Billion Mouths To Feed,” was selected as this year’s written winner. Clara presented her essay as part of …
ZimmGlass for Agricultural Journalism?
The ZimmGlass Project is all about using this new wearable technology to see how it can fit into the work flow of an agricultural journalist. I’ve been using it for this purpose in the field since early January. I’ve published many videos using ZimmGlass (the name for my Glass) that include face to face interviews, in the cab tractor demonstrations …
“Down to Earth” Examines Sustainable Farming
Indiana’s “Down to Earth” documentary examines the world of sustainable farming. Small-farm issues in a big-farm world are the central theme of a new documentary created by students at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. The film is focused on promoting a more sustainable and locally based food system for our country. Fourteen students spent the fall creating “Down to …
iCropTrak Soil with 1 Tap Entry for Serious AgNerds
AgNerd Alert! One tap data entry is important. Because as Aaron Hutchinson, President, Cogent3D, says, “Every click is money.” That’s part of the improvements in the latest release of iCropTrak. Aaron says the company has also created a new version of the product called iCropTrak Soil. This version provides a lower cost alternative for those who don’t need an advanced …
Manage Your Ground Speed with New Holland
Getting a lesson in Ground Speed Management with New Holland tractors was my second one during Operation Blue Force out on a farm near Bakersfield, CA. Our classroom teacher is Vic Constable. After the lesson I got into a T9 4-wheel drive tractor with track units pulling a massive field “Optimizer” to put that lesson in action. My driver, Ryan, …
20,000 Meals Packaged by FFA Members at Gin Show
In just a short amount of time these FFA students packaged 20,000 nutritious meals for the Mid-South Food Bank during the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show held in Memphis, TN. This doubles the number of meals put together last year. The endeavor was part of an outreach program by Kids Care. The Mid-South Food Bank was founded 1981 and is …
WWE Hall of Famer Visits Gin Show
Jerry “The King” Lawler, WWE Hall of Fame member, was on hand during the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show at the AgXplore booth. He was there to work with a good friend of his who is president and CEO AgXplore, Barry Aycock. Those fortunate to stroll by the AgXplore booth were greeted by the WWE wrestler who was available for …
The Wild Radish Song
I like radishes. But like some folks in Australia, not the wild kind. A parody of the Gotye hit “Somebody I used to know” by agronomic consultant Bill Long, who farms on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia as well as consults to a number of farmers in the region. This is a farmer’s lament on attempts to control wild …
New Holland Auto Command Lesson
My first lesson during the New Holland Operation Blue Force field training event was in a T7 210 Auto Command CVT transmission tractor. My teacher was Luke Zerby. He says this tractor is perfect for hay and forage work. Luke talked me through the control stick which is mounted on a Sidewinder II comfy armrest. The controls allow you to …
2014 Bayer Sustainability Award
During the ninth annual Ag Issues Forum last week, Bryan Boll of Minnesota was the recipient of the 2014 Bayer Young Farmer Sustainability Award. Bryan believes the key to sustainability is to look at your operation individually and see areas in which you can improve. I interviewed Bryan about the award and what sustainability means to him. Bryan is the …