A recent telephone survey of wheat and potato producers in Scotland showed:

• 99% of the farmers contacted are aware of precision agriculture technology.
• 34% of the potato producers and 28% of wheat producers surveyed use Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) guidance.
• 52% of wheat producers and 27% of potato producers use variable rate nitrogen (VRN).
• In the next 5 to 10 years 52% of the farmers plan to adoption variable rate seeding.

By: Dr. Brenda Ortiz, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

 

 

The Auburn University Precision Agriculture team hosted the 2019 Alabama Precision Agriculture Workshop July 30 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama. In all 71 attendees interacted in day-long activities. Several ISPA members were instrumental in planning the workshop and delivering content. Dr. Brenda Ortiz, Auburn University, and her team organized the workshop. The keynote address was given by ISPA Treasurer Dr. Terry Griffin of Kansas State University. Griffin discussed “Value of farm data within & beyond farmgate: Who should invest in ag technology?” Along with challenging the participants’ thinking regarding the value of farm data, Griffin shared the newly adopted official definition of precision agriculture adopted by the ISPA. Upon being asked what his favorite portion of the workshop Griffin responded “Being from the southern United States, I always enjoy returning to the South to witness how precision agricultural technology adoption and utilization has progressed since my last visit. It’s exciting to see the momentum that farmers from Alabama and across the southeastern United States have built along with their service providers.”

The morning breakout concurrent sessions of the workshop were led by faculty from Midwest and Southeast universities working on precision agriculture and members of ISPA: Dr. Ajay Sharda, Kansas State University; Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis, University of Florida; Dr. Kendall Kirk, Clemson University; Dr. Joe Luck, University of Nebraska; and Dr. Brenda Ortiz, Auburn University. The morning presentations covered topics of precision planting, irrigation, nutrient management, data management, remote sending and robotics. From these topics, participants indicated they learn the most from the presentations focused on: Drones Applications in Agriculture and Precision Weed Management, precision irrigation, and variable rate nitrogen application for cotton.
 
The afternoon program was led by Alabama Precision Agriculture service providers such as Agri-AFC, SunSouth that is one of the John Deere dealers in Alabama, Vantage South that represents Trimble, Precision Planting, 360 Yield Center among other companies, Climate FieldView, Pinnacle Agriculture. Along with some of these companies, Lindsay’s FieldNet advisor, and Trellis, a new soil sensors company based in Atlanta, Georgia were also present at the Exhibit Hall.

 

See the ISPA website for a complete list of events.

Do you have an event that would be of interest to our members? Send us an email to let us know.

• Open Rank Faculty - Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture - Director, University of Georgia
• Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Farming Systems Agronomy
• Tenure Track Assistant Professor in soil spectroscopy at Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University
• Senior Lecturer/ Lecturer of Digital Pasture Production
• Ph.D. Graduate Assistantship Position - University of Kentucky
• Tenure-track Assistant Professor - Artificial Intelligence in Agricultural and Forestry Informatics University of Tennessee
• Precision Agriculture Cohort Hiring Initiative, including the Position of Endowed Chair

ISPA Community leaders will get in touch with interested members through the ISPA listserv. Make sure you do not miss important communications from them by keeping your ISPA membership current and updating your interests on your “MyAccount” page, under “Interests”. 

Do you have a precision ag event, project, or news article that our members would be interested in? Please let us know. We post events, job opportunities, and news from members from around the globe. Email info@ispag.org or use the handy online form to submit your contribution.