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ISPAG Monthly Newsletter
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Past Newsletters

ISPA Newsletter 11(7): Letter from ISPA President Dr. John Fulton, ECPA summary, Spanish Association for Precision Agriculture, and more
Jul 25, 2023
ISPA Mid-Year Update From President Dr. John Fulton
The ISPA Board has been busy in 2023 with a focus on expanding the capacity of the society and attempting to make it more global.  We have accomplished several items including updating the logo, rethinking and increasing the number of Country Representatives, creating a Precision Ag / Digital Ag Course database, partnering with new technology conferences globally to increase our reach, expanding our social media presence, and starting to organize the 16th ICPA (https://www.ispag.org/icpa) to name a few Board tasks. 

A few highlights and comments on the Board’s work.  As of July 1, 2023, we have 42 Country Representatives from 33 countries (https://www.ispag.org/Leadership/CountryRep).  Soon we will start to ask the Country Representatives to provide updates on precision ag in their country and/or region as well as actively recruit new ISPA members while promoting the society in their country.  If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Country Representative, please email info@ispag.org with your bio highlighting your experience in precision agriculture and your CV.  You must be an active ISPA member to be considered for the position.

The Precision Ag / Digital Ag course database is available to ISPA members and can be viewed at https://www.ispag.org/course_database.  So far, we have had 84 courses submitted and have requested syllabi for each to be included in the database.  The lead faculty member or instructor is listed for each.  We hope this information provides a resource for members looking to update or create a new precision / digital agriculture course at your institution.  There is much to be learned from reviewing the course names.  The submission form will remain open, and you do not need to be a member to submit a course listing https://www.ispag.org/survey/Agriculture_Course_Submission

Additionally, an update to the ISPA Bylaws has been drafted and sent to all members for review and approval. The Bylaws have not been updated since the inception of ISPA and this new version will align with the current structure and operations of the society.  One of the proposed Bylaw changes will expand the Board from 5 to 9 members to include members from the different global regions.  We felt this was needed to ensure global input to ISPA work and its future.  If you are a member and did not receive the emails regarding ISPA Bylaws feedback, please email info@ispag.org.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate all the organizers on a successful 14th European Conference on Precision Agriculture in Bologna.  It was great to hear that there were over 400 attendees and a variety of papers and posters presented. 

I will have more to share later this year but I will conclude by inviting you to submit an abstract and join us at the 16th ICPA 21-14 July 2024 in Manhattan, KS.  It’s going to be a great event with plenty of networking opportunities.

If you have any comments or feedback to improve ISPA, please feel free to reach out to any of the ISPA Officers or reach me personally at president@ispag.org
 
Thank-you,
John Fulton, ISPA President  
16th International Conference on Precision Agriculture
16th ICPA Banner
 
Travel Title Bar
16th ICPA Registration
Whether you are arriving at Manhattan Regional Airport or Kansas City International Airport, make your way to Manhattan, Kansas USA this July for the 16th ICPA.
Learn more about Hotel and Travel Information here
The 16th ICPA is a great opportunity for you and your company to gain exposure and grow your influence in the global precision agriculture market. 
Please visit our website to learn more about our sponsorship packages.
 Register today for the 16th ICPA!  The conference offers Full Conference, Student Registration, and One-Day Registration rates. 
See the full list of registration rate options and conference add-ons including workshops and post-conference tour here
Summary of the 14th European Conference on Precision Agriculture
ECPA Logo
The 14th European Conference on Precision Agriculture took place in Bologna 2-6 July 2023.
 
The wave of Precision Agriculture has reached Italy for the first time, particularly on the shores of the University of Bologna. In partnership with the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), the Department of Agri-food Sciences and Technologies (DISTAL) of the University of Bologna organized the 14th European Conference on Precision Agriculture - ECPA Bologna 2023. The conference, which took place from July 2nd to 6th, saw the participation of over 400 attendees, including scientists and industry representatives.
 
Over the course of the four days, alongside the 250 oral and poster presentations, the potential of emerging technological solutions emerged, aiming to transform agriculture by adopting autonomous vehicles (Hand Free Agriculture and Human Robot Collaboration), optimizing resources (water and fertilizers), and progressively reducing agrochemicals (Pesticide-free Agriculture) through variable-rate application and the use of physical means. Among the enabling technologies discussed were Artificial Intelligence (AI) for weed recognition, robot guidance and automated harvesting, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Machine Learning for studies on the characterization and monitoring of agricultural surfaces and crops using proximal and remote sensors.
 
Three Plenary Sessions, a technical field tour at the university experimental farm, two side events organized by Confagricoltura and Crea, two society meetings, and a Gala Dinner characterized and contributed to the excitement of the four-day event on Precision Agriculture in Bologna. The topics addressed demonstrated a broad and integrated involvement of expertise and interests ranging from engineering to ecosystem physics, computer science to economics and marketing, and even legislative aspects.
 
The organizers of UNIBO along with Avenue Media, who managed the event, expressed their satisfaction with the international level of the conference. Participating and contributing to the debate were institutions such as Rector and a representative of the newly established National Center for the Development of New Technologies in Agriculture (Agritech).
Country Representative - Eiji Morimoto
Country Representative Eiji Morimoto
Country Representatives serve to help promote ISPA by championing the ISPA mission and purpose globally, in particular, in the country they represent. ISPA is growing internationally so Country Representatives remain an important position to help ISPA best serve people, groups, governments and others, globally connecting them to science and experts.
 
Please join us in thanking ISPA Country Representative from Japan, Eiji Morimoto. 
 
If you are interested in becoming a Country Representative, please email info@ispag.org with your bio highlighting your experience in precision agriculture and your CV.  ISPA requires that all Country Representatives are current members of the society. To become a member, please complete the membership form.  
ISPA Participation During the 14th ECPA
The 14th European Conference on Precision Agriculture (ECPA) took place in Bologna during the week of July 2-6, 2023. Members of ISPA attended the conference and engaged with more than 400 participants that traveled to Bologna from Africa, Asia, South and North America, and of course Europe. During the conference opening session, Brenda Ortiz, current ISPA Board Secretary, gave introductory and welcome remarks highlighting the role of Precision Agriculture to increase crop productivity as well as to strengthen environmental sustainability. She emphasized the need to accelerate the innovation process and stressed that aspect as one of the biggest challenges for scientists and practitioners.  She also highlighted the need to work together and build up on our strengths to produce solutions with people and for the people. Participants to the conference were invited to an ISPA business meeting on Monday, July 3rd, where Brenda Ortiz and ISPA Board Treasurer, Ruth Kerry, provided an update on the society. 
 
Read the full article here
Spanish Association of Precision Agriculture
Spanish Association of Precision Agriculture
SPAIN HAS CREATED ITS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE
 
A group of Precision Agriculture technicians and academics gathered at the end of 2022 to promote a Spanish association to support, promote and discuss about Precision Agriculture and its adoption. The Spanish association of Precision Agriculture, ANAP, wishes to reach all Spanish stakeholders related to Precision Agriculture, especially farmers, but also sectorial association, researchers, students, public organizations, cooperatives and companies and organizations of users and consumers.
 
ANAP has adopted ISPA’s official Precision Agriculture definition and will focus on knowledge and technology transfer, scientific and technical and education and training activities. In ANAP, data and information about Precision Agriculture will be analyzed with scientific rigor but will be commented and diffused among associates in informative style. 
 
The association was officially registered in late November 2022 and has been preparing its public launch this week. ANAP has currently opened doors for affiliations and sponsors. ANAP’s website is https://agriculturadeprecision.eu. ANAP is also present in Twitter (https://twitter.com/AnapSpain) and in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anap-spain).  
 
DIFM International Conference for On-Farm Precision Experimentation
DIFM Conference Flyer
On-farm precision experiments (OFPEs) are large, statistically valid on-farm agronomic trials that farmers implement using precision technology to generate data-based input management decisions. On Jan. 8-11, the Data-Intensive Farm Management Project (DIFM) will be hosting the USDA-sponsored International Conference for On-Farm Precision Experimentation.  The conference will be preceded by a Jan. 7 welcome and ”meet and greet,” in which DIFM’s NRCS-sponsored subsidization of farmers and consultants to conduct on-farm research is explained.  Jan. 8-9 will introduce OFPE to farmers and farm managers, professional crop consultants, and college students in digital agricultural programs, and will feature training sessions for the use of the DIFM’s cloud-based cyber-infrastructure, which offers user-friendly methods for the design, implementation and analysis of OFPEs.  Farmers and consultants will present results and lessons from their on-farm trials.  January 10-11 will focus on academic research reports, but will be open to all.
View the conference flyer here
The African Alliance for Food Security and Agribusiness (AAFSA)
AAFSA Logo
The African Alliance for Food Security and Agribusiness (AAFSA) is a network ecosystem designed to accelerate growth for practising agripreneurs in Africa by leveraging a data-driven, evidence-based and knowledge approach to agriculture.
Data-driven and knowledge-based approaches to crop production are significant contributors to high yields. The lack of access to data-driven and knowledge-based approaches for farmers and the relatively high cost of deploying a digital agriculture technical infrastructure required for this practice also contributes to the relatively low yield derived from crop production.
AAFSA network will empower MSMEs(agriprenuers) to acquire the technical and business capacity, mentorship including software licenses, required to achieve increased yield per hectare and incomes for both farmers and members, at low cost, building efficiency into the adoption and implementation of digital technologies for agriculture.
To learn more, please visit: aafsa.org
Upcoming Events
3-5 DEC 2024
3rd African Conference on Precision Agriculture
Kigali, Rwanda
 
29 JUN - 3 JUL 2025
15th European Conference on Precision Agriculture
Barcelona, Spain 
 
22-31 AUG 2025
XXXII ISSCT Centennial Congress
Cali, Colombia 
 
14-16 OCT 2025
11th Asian-Australasian Conference on Precision Agriculture 
Chiayi, Taiwan
 
2-4 FEB 2026
International Crop Modeling Symposium (iCROPM2026)
Florence, Italy 
 
 
Do you have an event that would be of interest to our members? Send us an email to let us know.
Jobs Listing
Do you have a job you would like to post to the ISPA website? Please send your job announcement, a short description, and cutoff deadline for applications to info@ispag.org
Contribute to the ISPA Newsletter
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
 
     
 

The International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) is a non-profit professional scientific organization.

The mission of ISPA is to advance the science of precision agriculture globally.

 

Contact newsletter@ispag.org to suggest content for future newsletters or visit www.ispag.org for more about the Society.

 

 

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