AgGateway Releases ADAPT ToolKit at #InfoAg16

Kelly Marshall August 8, 2016

If InfoAg had an unofficial theme, it was connectivity, and nowhere was that more important than the AgGateway booth. Susan Ruland, Communications Director for AgGateway shared with me about the organization whose sole mission is the collaboration between agribusiness companies. Finding common standards to connect across the food industry has been a goal of theirs for years, anything from sales reporting standards to inter operability between equipment colors. Last week, after years of work, the organization was pleased to announce the finalization of ADAPT.

“The most exciting thing this year is the release of ADAPT,” Ruland told me. “ADAPT is a tool kit that that can be used by software manufacturers, OEMs, to make it possible for the grower to draw on data from different areas and not have it be a big headache, basically. […] Inter-operatbilibty is a huge issue and we are now- thanks to AgGateway, thanks to the hard work of the teams at AgGateway- we are cracking that nut and we’re getting to the grower being able to use their data more easily.”

Ruland also encourages anyone involved in precision agriculture to be part of AgGateway. The organization offers a “safe space,” she says, so anyone can offer an idea and be part of the discussion, and more importantly, part of the solution.

Listen to my full interview here: AgGateway, Susan Ruland

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Audio, Info Ag, Technology

Ethanol Mixed Fuel Ready for #SturgisRally

Chuck Zimmerman August 7, 2016

This is the 76th year of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The action kicked off at the beginning of this weekend before I got here. Thanks to the city of Sturgis for this photo of the American Legion Riders, Post 71. They rode approximately 90 miles from Hot Springs SD to present a flag for the Harley-Davidson Rally Point Plaza, where the grand opening was held.

Last year was a huge year for attendance with the 75th anniversary but this year is still strong judging by the number of vendor permits just in town.

Now on to the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground. Here’s ZimmComm New Media GM, Clint Underwood, at the entrance. He’s a first-timer and soaking in all the sights and sounds.

We’re here working with the Renewable Fuels Association once again to not only help educate bikers about ethanol blended gasoline but to also pump some free gas at Free Fuel Happy Hours. I’ll be interviewing bikers and others and publishing mostly on our renewable fuels website Energy.Agwired.com.

Tomorrow is set up day before we get busy in the afternoon so it will probably be Tuesday morning before we can share much more.

Biofuels, Ethanol, RFA

Paperwork Streamlining Solution from @CropTrak

Joanna Schroeder August 5, 2016

Drowning in paperwork is not limited to corporate America. With ever growing regulations and a call for more transparency on food production from consumers, farmers are also on the verge of drowning in paperwork. But have no fear, Crop Trak is here with a solution to assist growers streamline paperwork and InfoAg attendees learned all about it in the presentation, “When Did Farming Become Paper Pushing,” presented by Jonathan Sherrill with Crop Trak during the show this week in St. Louis, Missouri. Kelly Marshall had the opportunity to sit down with Sherrill following his presentation and talk about how to get rid of paperwork.

Sherrill mentioned that paperwork is not something anyone gets excited about. He said that reality is it’s a common problem for everyone regardless of the size of the operation, the crop or crops they are growing, and he said it’s just becoming worse.

Some of this paperwork, said Sherrill, is being driven by consumers who have become much more conscious about where their food comes from. They want to know what inputs and technologies are being used and if the grower is producing the crop in a sustainable manner. This, said Sherrill, is driving companies to become more transparent. “Consumers are expecting companies to be more transparent about their suppliers, sustainability. They want traceability on where the food comes from. And it’s not just limited to food; it’s feed, it’s fiber and it’s fuel as well.”

Sherrill added that the last thing farmers want to do is be in the office doing paperwork – they want to be in the field farming, and there must be a middle ground. Crop Trak is helping growers by taking post-it notes and notes from the field to electronic records.

Learn more about how to streamline your operation’s paperwork by listening to Kelly’s interview with Sherrill here: Interview with Jonathan Sherrill, Crop Trak

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Audio, CropTrak, Info Ag, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Ag, Energy Split on Clinton-Kaine Duo

Jamie Johansen August 5, 2016

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is the Clinton-Kaine Democratic ticket good for agriculture and/or energy?”

I am not quite sure this week’s pollers have anymore confidence in the Clinton-Kaine team when it come to agricultural and energy issues. Clinton has backed biotech, the Farm Bill, animal welfare, climate and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). And Kaine seems somewhere in the middle. However, our poll shows a split. I suppose time will tell all.

Here are the poll results:

Good for ag & biofuels – 43%
Good for ag but not for biofuels – 0%
Good for biofuels but not for ag – 5%
Not good for ag & biofuels – 33%
Could go either way – 19%
Other – 0%

Our new ZimmPoll is live and asks the question, What will play the biggest role in the future of agriculture?

The 2016 InfoAg Conference is a wrap, yet we still have a bunch of precision technology info to share with you in the coming week. Jack Uldrich, acclaimed global futurist, speaker and best-selling author keynoted this year’s ag techfest sharing thoughts on what the world may look like in just a few short years. So, what do you feel will play the largest role in the future of agriculture…biotech, big data, social media? Share your thoughts.

ZimmPoll

160 Drone Companies Set to Showcase at InterDrone

Jamie Johansen August 5, 2016

BZ Media LLC unveiled the exhibition component of the industry’s largest dedicated commercial UAV show, InterDrone. More than 130 exhibitors have already signed up for the event taking place September 7-9 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. The exhibition will be paired with more than 120 sessions on all aspects of UAV design, piloting, regulations, and business management.

Exhibitors and sponsors include a cross section of the entire commercial drone industry including AeroVironment, DJI, Precision Hawk, Yuneec, Intel, SenseFly, Insitu, DroneDeploy, NovaTel, 3D Robotics, eHang, Autel, AUVSI, Hubsan, C-Astral, Brother, Walkera, SlantRange, Kodak, Flir, Parrot, AEGis Technologies, Sentera, and pavilions from Iowa, North Dakota and Nevada.

Michael P. Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will give the Grand Opening Keynote address on September 7 at 10:30 am. He will be joined at InterDrone by a high-level lineup of commercial drone thought leaders who will frame the state of the industry for the more than 4,000 attendees expected at the conference, including Tian Yu, and Chris Anderson, founders of Yuneec and 3D Robotics respectively.

DroneLife.com said, “We partner with many great conference and event providers in the drone market. But one has jumped out of the proverbial gate faster than all others: InterDrone. Only in its second year, InterDrone has become the CES (or Comdex for you old guys) of the new drone economy. This year’s event provides a vast tapestry of drone topics and knowledge sharing…”

“Attendance is running well ahead of last year at this time and more than 245 media and association partners on six continents are helping to drive awareness of InterDrone and building it into the premier ‘Big Tent’ commercial drone event in the world,” said Ted Bahr, InterDrone Chairman.

For information on exhibiting or event sponsorships, please contact Ted Bahr at ted@bzmedia.com or 631-421-4158 x101.

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture

Precision Ag Awards Presented at #InfoAg16

Cindy Zimmerman August 5, 2016

PrecisionAg Executive Editor Paul Schrimpf presents award to Dr. Brian Arnell, OSU

The PrecisionAg Institute was celebrating a decade of the PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence at this year’s InfoAg Conference in St. Louis. The winners each year have devoted their careers to the technology that improves crop production stewardship, agronomy, and efficiency and this year was no different.

The 2016 Educator/Researcher of the Year is Dr. Brian Arnall, Associate Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Oklahoma State University. His program focuses on implementing precision ag technologies and nutrient management with emphasis on site-specific techniques.

The 2016 Legacy Award was presented posthumously to Dr. Marvin Stone who was a Regents Professor at Oklahoma State University (OSU) for 24 years, lecturing in the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering department. During his time at OSU, he authored nearly 100 papers, received millions of dollars in grants, and taught legions of young, aspiring engineers while mentoring and advising dozens of graduate students across multiple disciplines. Tragically, Marvin and his wife Bonnie died on October 24 last year after being struck by an automobile following the OSU Homecoming Parade.

PrecisionAg Farmer of the Year – Craige Mackenzie of New Zealand

The 2016 PrecisionAg Farmer of the Year is Craige Mackenzie, a dairy and crop farmer from Methven, New Zealand. In 2010, Craige and daughter, Jemma, established Agri-Optics Ltd., New Zealand’s first precision agriculture service company providing precision ag tools and services to NZ farming systems with a focus on field sensing (crop sensing and Electro Magnetic soil surveying) and spatial data management solutions.

The Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Ag Partners, LLC which provides products, services and market access in the areas of grain, agronomy, feed, and petroleum. The Iowa-based company has developed and manages InSiteCDM, acrop data management program that helps producers maximize profits and make more efficient inputs.

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Info Ag, Precision Agriculture

CropTrak Partners with The Weather Company

Kelly Marshall August 5, 2016

CropTrak President Aaron Hutchinson doesn’t believe in just sitting still. He’s always moving his company forward, from updating the company’s name (you may remember them as iCrop Trak) to upgrading the weathers solutions provided by his company. At InfoAg this week the company announced a move to partner with The Weather Company. This IBM owned weather solution will offer Crop Trak customers not just weather data, but very precise, global information.

“It means, for our large, corporate customers who are global- we do business in more than 58 countries around the globe today- it means we can actually respond to their weather requests at a higher rate than we do today. And it may mean we have access to some new types of weather products, maybe in the future, that we can pass along to our clients as part of being part of the API,” Hutchinson explains to AgWired.

“We’re helping to provide the very, very precise weather information so they can help their customers make better decision across the world,” adds Carrie Gillespie, Account Manager for The Weather Company.

IBM solutions mean customers can pull in data to do all sorts of things, from predicting crop yields to making a better prediction about what seed to plant.

You can hear my full interview with Hutchinson and Gillespie here: Interview with Crop Trak and The Weather Company

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, CropTrak, Info Ag, Weather

Two Pass Weed Control Back In Style

Lizzy Schultz August 5, 2016

Chris Reat, Corn Segment Product Manager at FMC Corporation, was on hand during the 2016 Ag Media Summit to discuss the benefits of using a two pass system for weed control, and the ways it can help protect your yields this season.

“The two pass system is really starting to come back in vogue because of the challenges we’re having with some of the glyphosate resistant weeds and other tough to control weeds out there,” said Reat in an interview during Ag Media Summit.”We’ve gotten by as systems have allowed us with one pass systems, but two pass is becoming more popular because it works.”

For growers looking into two pass systems, Reat suggests FMC’s Anthem Maxx as a pre product with Solstice as a follow up, and stressing the importance of evaluating the correct application timing when utilizing a two pass system.

“That combination offers three different modes of action, and it allows them to control the weeds before they come up, but if they do see some late season weeds start to come up, controlling them with Solstice has been super effective,” he said. “”You can go as early as 45 days pre with Anthem Maxx, we usually like to keep it a little closer than that so it extends your window of coverage, but the flexibility of Anthem Maxx is that you can go post with it as well, so once you get it in the barn, you have lots of options with it.”

Listen to Chuck’s full interview with Chris here:
Chris Reat, FMC

View and download photos from the event here: 2016 AMS Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Ag Media Summit, Agronomy, Audio, Crop Protection, FMC, Herbicide

AgGateway Advances Solutions for Data Management

Joanna Schroeder August 4, 2016

Progress on the AgGateway consortium was delivered to attendees of InfoAg this week in St. Louis, Missouri. The non-profit was founded to address eConnectivity needs in agriculture as the industry develops and adopts more powerful tools to increase efficiency and productivity. One way this is being achieved is through data exchange. This year AgGateway announced new standards, models and other resources that will improve the ability of growers to easily manage their data and the organization’s progress in these areas was featured during the show.

To learn more, Chuck Zimmerman spoke with John Deere’s Chip Donahue. John Deere is one of the founding companies, along with more than a dozen more, of AgGateway. Donahue said they are getting ready to launch version one of ADAPT, the open-source Agricultural Data Application Programming Toolkit. He said that the program was first made available to the public in February and it’s a data model with the ability to convert from one format, such as a John Deere format into a Case format into an ISO format.

“The program simplifies the ability to exchange data between systems whether its from a machine into a software system or between software systems,” explained Donahue.

Donahue highlighted some of the resources that AgGateway provides including:

ADAPT is being adopted by Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) developers and terminal manufacturers;
AgGateway Core Documents for Field Operations been made available through the ADAPT data model and continue to be enhanced;
Documentation from the Standardized Precision Ag Data Exchange (SPADE) Project for interoperability; and
New irrigation standards from the Precision Ag Irrigation Language (PAIL) Project for better irrigation management.

The organization is also working in other areas including crop scouting, crop nutrition, telematics and commodity grain movement.

AgGateway is currently in the process of testing plug-ins and then licensing those to the organization’s software partners. Donahue said that the technology is open-source so it’s available globally for anyone to use and they are promoting ADAPT to the software industry.

Learn more about ADAPT and the work of AgGateway in Chuck’s interview with Donahue here: Interview with Chip Donahue, John Deere

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Audio, Info Ag, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology

#InfoAg16 Hints at Future for @JohnDeere

Kelly Marshall August 4, 2016

Jeremy Leifker leads the product strategy and marketing group at John Deere, a division responsible for bringing new ideas to the company pipeline. While much of what is in the works remains a secret, Leifker took time at InfoAg to tell AgWired about a theme that is important to what John Deere develops.

Telematics, or remote measurements, are an important part of the future, Leifker says. At John Deere that product is known as JD Link, and it assess what’s happening in the machine at all times. “Right now details really matter, so having confidence in everything you do to the field, how that equates to the bottom line, having that remote measurement is critical to do that, so you get that with JD Link,” he explains.

Of course, data is one thing, making sense of it is another. That’s why John Deere’s Operations Center is such a big deal. The platform is a tool open to many companies– businesses that offer a service to the grower and do it really well. In the Operations Center a grower can input his data and have it sync with any of the many services he chooses. While (of course!) John Deere has great solutions, other products may specialize in measuring profit lose, or helping growers organize the work day. This connectivity is the future of agriculture, Leifker believes.

“Getting that integrated for the farmers is really key, so I’d say that’s another theme around integration, and a lot of that happens on the back side.”

Overall, much of John Deere’s product strategy focuses on shortening the amount of time it takes from discovering a problem to providing users with a solution. Right now the team works with a handful of growers in the U.S. and Canada throughout the entire process of developing a solution, making sure they keep in close touch to address concerns as they happen. John Deere customers can look forward to the results of that teamwork hitting the market in the next two years.

To hear more about the future of product development at John Deere, listen to my full interview here: Jeremy Leifker, John Deere

2016 ICPA/InfoAg Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Info Ag, John Deere, Technology

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