UAS Pathfinder Program Includes Ag

Cindy Zimmerman

faa-pathfinderAt the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems international conference in Atlanta on Wednesday, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta announced new partnerships with industries, including agriculture, to explore the next steps in unmanned aircraft operations.

“We’re calling it the Pathfinder Program,” said Huerta. “We’re partnering with three leading U.S. companies who have committed extensive resources to perform research that will help us determine if and how we can safely expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States.”Comments from FAA administrator Michael Huerta on Pathfinder

One of the three is Raleigh-based PrecisionHawk, which will be surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft flying outside of the pilot’s direct vision.

PrecisionHawkAccording to PrecisionHawk founder and president Ernest Earon, they will be working with the FAA to develop standards and operational procedures to allow for safe integration of drones in the National Airspace System. “This is something we’ve been working on for a very long time,” said Earon in an interview with Precision.AgWired after the announcement. “Our goal is to really push forward the regulations and the use cases so we can as an industry take advantage of this technology and move it forward.”

The partnership will leverage PrecisionHawk’s work in the global agriculture landscape to formulate a framework for various types of UAVs, fixed wing and multi-rotor, to operate in the areas of agriculture, forestry and other rural industries. By introducing an operational tracking system that works with any UAV platform, the FAA and PrecisionHawk can safely test operations beyond visual line of sight in low risk, ‘non-populated’ areas, such as farmland.

In this interview Earon discusses the new partnership with FAA and what he sees as the future of unmanned aircraft in agriculture: Interview with Ernest Earon, PrecisionHawk

Audio, Precision Agriculture

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Farm Bureau Launches GMO Website

Cindy Zimmerman

fb-gmoThe American Farm Bureau Federation has launched a new website to help farmers “Get a Move On” and stand up for biotechnology. By going to GetaMoveOn.fb.org, farmers can show their support for a national, science-based labeling standard, such as the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (H.R. 1599).

“Now is the time for farmers and ranchers to take action in support of innovation in agriculture,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “Access to crop traits that resist pests, diseases and drought stress is helping farmers across the nation grow more food using less land, water, fuel and pesticides,” Stallman said. “Biotechnology will offer even more benefits in the future.”

From the website, farmers and ranchers can send House members emails encouraging “yea” votes for the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act. The bill will clarify the Food and Drug Administration as the nation’s foremost authority on food safety and create a voluntary labeling program run by the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the same agency that administers the USDA Organic Program.

Through GetaMoveOn.fb.org, farmers can not only connect with their lawmakers, but find state-by-state fact sheets detailing the value and share of GMO crops in each state. They can then share this information in their emails.

AFBF, Biotech

Phenomenal Corn Planting Progress

Cindy Zimmerman

martin-barbreA week ago corn planting was running behind schedule but thanks to the very latest precision technology corn farmers are now 17% ahead of the five year average with 55% of the crop in the ground, according to the latest crop progress report. The phenomenal progress included an increase of 38% in Nebraska and Illinois, 41% more in Missouri, 45% in Minnesota and an additional 54% of the acreage in Iowa.

I caught up with our friend Martin Barbre, Chairman of the National Corn Growers Association, who says he is close to 75% planted on his farm in Carmi, Illinois. “We’ve got guys all the way from 50 percent to 100 percent done,” he said. “Things are really rolling good.”

Barbre adds that the latest precision farming technology helps farmers take advantage of the weather windows when they happen quickly and makes them more sustainable as well.

Listen to my interview with Martin here: Interview with NCGA Chairman Martin Barbre of Illinois

Audio, Corn, Farming, NCGA

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Debbie Stabenow

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features the Ranking Member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

open-micThe Michigan Democrat says she’s concerned about the budget process and is ready to defend the agriculture policy she and others worked so hard to approve. Stabenow says she wants to export products not jobs. In this interview, she shares her reservations about granting Trade Promotion Authority for the administration and her support for expanding trade with Cuba.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Agri-Pulse

GROWMARK Provides Fertilizer Update

Cindy Zimmerman

growmark-fertilizerLower crop prices and a later harvest caused farmers to cut back some on fall fertilizer application last year but supplies are expected to be adequate this spring to meet demand, according to GROWMARK Plant Food Director Joe Dillier.

“Haven’t had a great test of that because of the planting delays we’ve had to date,” said Dillier. “But my guess is that we’re going to be okay on fertilizer supply going through the balance of the spring.”

joe-dillierDillier says that prices have been volatile but basically steady compared to last year. “Overall, phosphate prices are maybe a little higher than they were a year ago, not much, ammonia is probably in that same category,” said Dillier. “The other products would probably be down a little bit compared to a year ago.”

The fertilizer market is going through a bit of a transition right now, according to Dillier. “It’s anticipated that some time over the course of the next year, there will be some new domestic production come on, probably after this fall,” he said. “So, we’ll have to see how that plays out.”

There is some concern that with last year’s big crop and yields farmers face some risk by cutting back on fertilizer. “Last spring we saw strong application rates and I think farmers saw the benefit of that…they saw great yields,” said Dillier. “That’s the danger if they go shy on their nutrient program that they don’t get the yields that they want.”

Dillier has more information in this interview: Interview with Joe Dillier, GROWMARK

Audio, Fertilizer, GROWMARK

Tyler Hubbard Meets New Holland Next Gen

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 473It all started with a tweet. Tyler Hubbard announced that he wanted a New Holland T5 tractor. New Holland got the message. What happened next was the New Holland Voice of the Next Gen Contest. AgWired helped promote the contest and now it has concluded successfully. Six weeks from start to finish. Now that’s executing on a short time frame!

New Holland Voice of the Next GenHere in Episode 2 of my series on the Next Gen project we’ll meet the folks in charge of the New Holland team that put together the promotion and also hear from Tyler Hubbard, the Georgia part of Florida Georgia Line.

New Holland Team with Tyler HubbardIn this photo you can see the New Holland team posing with Tyler Hubbard in Hershey, PA. New Holland brought the five contest winners together along with local dealers and their customers to meet Tyler Hubbard prior to the Florida Georgia Line concert Saturday night.

During the Meet and Greet I talked with Dawn Pelon and Mark Hooper about how the contest came together. Dawn says that Tyler sent a tweet containing a photo of their T5 Tractor brochure with the words, “If only one could wish.” From there New Holland worked on making his wish come true. Mark says it’s exciting to see people engage in something like this contest. “I think this is something New Holland does differently. We connect with customers and people in a different way.”

With this campaign over Dawn says they’re kicking off a new contest on social media called The 1st Cut Competition. Hay growers are asked to submit creative photos of their first cut of the season to the contest website. The contest begins today and ends July 31. The hashtag is #NH1stCut. The prize is a Roll-Belt 450 Silage Special Round Baler.

During the Contest Period, you can enter the Contest at www.NHFirstCut.com (“Website”) by completing all required fields on the registration form, uploading an original photo (“Photo”) of your 1st cut and Photo Title of 10 words or less (all components combined constitute the “Submission”). The Photo could be of your hay field, equipment, or yourself in the field. Limit one (1) Submission per person. Only the entrant may appear in the Photo. Full rules here.

Tyler HubbardLet’s move on to my conversation with Tyler Hubbard. Here’s Tyler Hubbard on stage during the band’s performance. We had a rowdy crowd that night enjoying the performance.

Tyler grew up in Georgia and moved to Nashville when he was 18 yrs. old. He’s got a farm and loves the New Holland brand. He works with his local dealer but has met a lot more New Holland people on this promotion. When it comes to America’s farmers and ranchers Tyler sends out a lot of “love and respect” for farming and working hard.

Listen to more about this great New Holland promotion and what Tyler had to say in this week’s program: New Holland Next Gen with Tyler Hubbard

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

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#Planting15 and Technology

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How will high path avian flu impact industry?”

The number of outbreaks grows by the day and I am afraid the worst is yet to come. Just yesterday, Iowa announced four more cases. It looks like the majority feel exports will be greatly impacted and many agree that we haven’t seen the worst of it.

Here are the poll results:

  • No major impact – 13%
  • Big export impact – 38%
  • Higher prices – 6%
  • Worse for turkey producers – 13%
  • Worse yet to come – 25%
  • Will recover quickly – 5%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What technology is most responsible for rapid planting progress?

Up until last week, planting progress was running behind normal. But in just one week farmers were able to plant more than one third of the corn acres – including 54% in Iowa alone! What do you think is most responsible for the ability to make such tremendous progress in such a short time?

ZimmPoll

Nuts & Bolts of Ag Communication

Chuck Zimmerman

AAEA LPC SeminarThe American Agricultural Editors Association and the Livestock Publications Council are holding their Midwest Regional Workshop today. The title is, “The Nuts and Bolts of Communication.”

DTN/The Progressive Farmer is supplying a livestream of the workshop today. On the screen when I tuned in is Jim Patrico, Senior Editor for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

The topics today include how to Rock Your Assignment, Breaking News Better and Storytelling in a Twitter World. Remember way back when no one had heard of Twitter? Remember thinking, “This is stupid.” Amazing what Twitter has done to communications and news isn’t it?

ACN, LPC, Media

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  • Bayer CropScience announced a strategic innovation partnership with Flagship Ventures, a leading venture capital and venture creation firm.
  • HoneyComb Corp., manufacturer of the AgDrone System, is pleased to announce that Wilbur-Ellis has received approval to fly the AgDrone System over agricultural property within the United States from the FAA.
  • At the Farm Foundation Forum on Thursday, May 14, industry experts from production agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies will explore the challenges of phasing out the use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals.
  • Evolva and Valent BioSciences Corporation have signed an exclusive agreement to co-develop and commercialize a class of high-value active ingredients for use as next-generation agricultural bioactives.
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