Drones and the Future of Farming

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., the world’s largest corn processor, received regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones that will locate and assess crop damage.
Using drones will help expedite the processing of crop-insurance claims, the Chicago-based company said in a statement Wednesday.“We are on track to have this technology in the air for our customers next year,” Greg Mills, president of ADM’s Crop Risk Services unit, which offers insurance, said in the statement.
Drones are one of the latest tools in precision agriculture, in which data is collected by satellites and sensors and analyzed to maximize farm yields.
While the FAA bans commercial drone use, it has granted exemptions to operators who track crop yields, monitor oil and gas facilities, and inspect power lines and smokestacks. To get an exemption, companies must certify that their drones will be operated by licensed pilots and that a second person observe the flights.

Save Billions of Gallons of Water

Farmers who use polytubing for irrigation often don’t get the most efficient use of their water resources, says Chris DeClerk, irrigation specialist with Delta Plastics, Little Rock, Ark., who spoke at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association which was covered by Delta Farm Press.

For more information, watch the video here.

Soybean Talk

Matt Miles says he's one of a small group of farmers he considers "some of the best in the United States."

Some might consider that bragging except for one thing: That small group of growers has harvested more than 100 bushels of soybeans per acre, some of them, including Miles, for two years in a row in the Arkansas Soybean Association's Grow for the Green Challenge.

Miles was a speaker at the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference in Baton Rouge, La. (The Cotton and Rice Conference, the name it took when it started 18 years ago, has now been expanded to include the Southern Corn and Soybean Conference.) Delta Farm Press covered the conference.

Miles and his wife, Sherrie, and son, Layne, farm 6,300 acres in Ashley and Desha Counties in southeast Arkansas, where at least a half dozen growers have harvested more than 100 bushels of soybeans in the Arkansas Soybean Association contest. About 85 percent of the Miles acreage is planted in corn and soybeans, a reversal from the years prior to 2006 when it mostly was in cotton.

"Our soybeans always used to be on our poorest land," says Miles. "We took the least amount of care of them. We might have a 100-acre field with 25 acres of clay, and we would put the soybeans down there."

Miles credits fellow Southeast Arkansas producer Jim Whittaker with getting him on the road to growing high-yielding soybeans. "I called him and told him 'y'all are growing some of the best soybeans around, and I'd like to know what you're doing?"

He also pointed to Billy Gardner, his farm manager in Ashley County, and Rob Dedman, his consultant from Rison, Ark., as being integral parts of his operation. "These two guys push me to push these soybeans harder."

Most of the soybeans he grows are Pioneer varieties, he said. He will try other brands, planting them on 15 to 20 acres to see how they compare to his standby varieties. He said he plants about 150,000 seed per acre because "invariably, we plant when it's too cold, and we up the seeding rate to make sure we get a stand."

Miles has been an advocate of twin-row planters until now. "We drag a single-row planter around with us wherever we go," he noted. "For several years, we were averaging six or seven bushels more per acre with twin rows. But the last two years, we only harvested a bushel to a bushel-and-a-half per acre on twin rows. So we're rethinking some of that."

For more on the Grow for the Green Challenge, visit http://www.arkansassoybean.com/Yield-Contest-.html

A Front Door

History is filled with examples of entrepreneurs ginning up ideas that revolutionized U.S. agriculture. Those early pioneers had local communities that helped them nurture and grow their brainstorms until they became viable products.

But where do today’s Eli Whitneys and John Deeres and Cyrus McCormicks turn to get the help they need to launch their great innovations and build industries around them? That’s one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture as it seeks to feed, cloth and provide fuel for a rapidly growing world population.

Steve Bares, president and executive director of Memphis Bioworks Foundation, an organization that works with entrepreneurs in a number of fields, including agriculture, talked about the process during a presentation at the Tennessee AgriTech Challenge in Murfreesboro, Tenn.  Delta Farm Press reported on it.

“I have the privilege every day of working with entrepreneurs, whether we’re working with entrepreneurs in the agricultural space, in the medical device space or in the logistics areas,” said Dr. Bares. “The one thing you learn I think in the community and in the state is that entrepreneurs put batteries in our communities.

“They light the way; they provide the energy; they give you jobs; they make it so that our kids want to come back to the state and work. That’s what this is all about. What we’re trying to do is build a system around helping entrepreneurs.”

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation, which organized the conference along with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and USDA, has a track record of assisting entrepreneurs in taking their ideas to the marketplace.

Another fact Bares has learned is that ag entrepreneurs’ good ideas don’t get automatically translated into success. “That’s not what happens,” he said. “It’s actually hard to be an entrepreneur in the agricultural space. It’s not clear where we go to get the information we need.”

Too often, Bares said, entrepreneurs don’t know where to go to get the information they need on subjects such as irrigation or other areas of expertise that could help solve problems they face. They often don’t know where to get the capital they need.

“What we’ve done is we’ve made it hard for entrepreneurs, the batteries or the energies behind our communities,” he noted. “What we’ve learned in this process is that when you talk to new entrepreneurs or your customers, they tell us ‘we need to figure out how this works; we don’t get it.’ They need a front door.”

That doesn’t mean that only one organization should be working with entrepreneurs and providing that single front door, according to Bares. “If we’re doing this right, we need 12 organizations that are doing this across the state. But we still have to have a place where it all makes sense, where it all comes together.”

The goal, he said, is to enable hundreds of entrepreneurs to start many new agricultural companies in Tennessee.

Participants in the Tennessee AgriTech Challenge heard presentations by four representative startups that are seeking help in getting established. The four are scattered across the state and even into Mississippi:

Climate Adaptive Genetics. James West, a professor at Vanderbilt University and chief technology officer for the company, described a breeding program that would put Angus cattle in white coats to make them more tolerant of the heat in climates like Brazil. The project is being developed by Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State University. www.Climateadaptivegenetics.com

Hivalgo. John Reams, CEO, described a system that would provide refinements in grain and oilseed training through the use of information technology. www.hivalgo.com.

Croptell. Scott Sartor, CEO, discussed developing new financial farm planning software for the row crop farming industry. www.croptell.com.

Sytheros. Jim Stratigos, CEO, talked about developing a wireless sensor platform for agriculture and other industries. www.sytheros.com.

Ron Meeusen, a former scientist with Dow AgroSciences who now directs a venture capitalist firm called Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, spoke on “Investing in Agricultural Innovation,” and three panelists, William Brown, dean for research and director of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station; Walt Mullins, trait manager for Bayer CropScience; and Barry Knight, chief executive officer, Cresco Ag LLC, spoke on “Does Tennessee Have a Role in Global Ag Innovation?”

For a short video on this presentation click here.

2001: A Farm Oddessy

In the classic science-fiction film Star Wars, the character Han Solo turns to Luke Skywalker during a heated space travel scene and says "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy!"

Well, Han Solo may be wrong.

Agriculture.com recently covered a story about  SpaceX.  A company that is one of a handful of companies in the world whose scientists and engineers are producing rockets and spacecrafts that company leaders including CEO Elon Musk hope will one day lead to a completely privatized space travel industry with an ultimate goal of "making humanity a multi-planet species." The company is based in Hawthorne, California, but has facilities and employees in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Texas.

What's this got to do with agriculture? SpaceX officials recently announced a farmer in Texas will soon become one of the company's 3,000 employees.

Responsibilities of the job include planning and executing budgets, operating and maintaining machinery, nailing down crop inputs and maintaining the ability to "understand the implications of the weather and make contingency plans," according to a SpaceX report. The job takes at least 10 years of "row crop farming experience" in central Texas and "which shall include a working knowledge of every process required for crop production in the region," according to SpaceX. "Experience in repair and preventative maintenance of John Deere agricultural equipment."

So, is SpaceX sending a farmer to space? Though company officials have been tight-lipped about why they're hiring a farmer, there's speculation that the position has as much to do with the company's operating budget as it does coming up with ways to grow food in space. Agricultural use nets tax-exempt status for not just land, but the tools, equipment and inputs used for growing crops or raising livestock in Texas.

Though SpaceX's ultimate goals in hiring a farmer have yet to be specifically outlined, it's clear company leaders intend for the position's occupant to both continue farm work and have at least some role in the company's operations.

"This position will be required to work around test schedules as necessary to ensure the successful crop production does not interfere with testing progress," according to a statement from SpaceX's website.

11 Ways to Cut Grain Drying

Recently Agriculture.com looked at the best ways to cut into grain drying.  Here is what they came up with.

Drying grain can be one of the most energy-intensive operations on the farm. When you burn fuel to produce that energy, you also burn money. 

There isn’t an easy solution to cut costs. “No two farms are the same,” says Gary Woodruff, GSI. “There isn’t one best way to dry grain.” 

This list will help you identify energy-saving tips for the size of your operation and your grain-drying infrastructure.

1 Run in all-heat mode
“One thing that’s been around for a long time but is still cost effective is running a portable dryer in the all-heat mode,” says Woodruff. 

In all-heat mode, you heat the grain in the dryer and cool it in the bin. “The advantage is you can come out of the dryer at a higher moisture content, and then you lose one, two, or three points of moisture in the cooling process,” explains Kerry Hartwig, Sukup Manufacturing Co. “Drying those last points takes the most energy.”

That can save you 20% to 30% of your operating costs, says Woodruff. Running in all-heat mode also increases your efficiency, because grain flows through the dryer more quickly. Plus, you end up with better quality grain, because cooling grain rapidly can increase stress cracks on corn kernels. 

There are limitations to running in all-heat mode. This drying system won’t work on most bins larger than 50,000 bushels. That’s because you need to run between 1∕3 and ½ cfm of air through each bushel when the bin is full. For bins 50,000 bushels or smaller, you will need to have larger aeration fans and increase the number of roof vents. It will also require more management. 

“There are better drying systems on the market that don’t require the extra management that all-heat mode requires,” says Woodruff, “but this is one of the least expensive ways to improve how you process grain on your farm.”

2 Buy an all-heat dryer 
If your present dryer can’t run in all-heat mode, consider upgrading. “A new all-heat dryer gives the most capacity, efficiency, and quality for the dollar, even with the bin aeration upgrades required,” says Woodruff.

3 Upgrade to vacuum cooling or heat recovery
“For larger operations, it will be more efficient for grain to come out of the dryer cool,” says Hartwig. “That’s where vacuum cooling or heat recovery can make a big difference.”

In vacuum cooling, heat that is given off by the cooling grain is cycled back into the drying process. By doing this, less fuel is required to raise the drying air temperature.
Vacuum cooling is offered on tower dryers, centrifugal dryers, and centrifugal stack dryers. 

“With vacuum cooling, you can dry grain with even better efficiency than you can with all-heat drying,” says Woodruff. “You will spend more money up front, and you’re going to need a pretty good size grain dryer to get that newer technology.”

4 Dry grain evenly
“If a dryer dries grain faster in some areas and slower in others, the dryer will overdry grain to make up for the underdried grain,” says Hartwig. “This adds drying cost in extra fuel used and lower grain test weights from overdrying.”

There are different systems available to help you dry grain more evenly. Sukup’s single-module and stacked dryers use a quad-metering roll system that pulls dryer grain near the inside of the grain column out of the dryer faster, while leaving wetter grain near the outside of the column in the dryer longer. Stacked dryers also use a grain cross-over system that takes grain from one side of the dryer on the top module to the other side of the dryer on the bottom module. This inverts the grain for more even drying. Sukup tower dryers use a grain exchanger system halfway down the heat chamber.

Another option is to use a system like GSI’s grain inverters. The inverters move all grain, except the outer 2 inches within the column, to eliminate overdried grain and to maximize drying efficiency. The inverters redirect the warmest grain from the inside of the column next to the wettest grain at the outside of the column. The wet grain is dried by the captured heat, which recovers up to 15% of the heat that would have been lost.

5 Run at a higher plenum temperature
“One thing you might not be aware of is that the higher you run your plenum temperature, the more efficiently you dry grain,” says Woodruff. “At the end of the season, farmers will say they are only removing three to four moisture points, so they lowered their plenum temperature to save some fuel. Exactly the opposite happens.”

Running at a higher temperature reduces the drying time and, therefore, saves you fuel. However, higher temperatures can potentially do more damage, so you need to find a good balance. “Each dryer’s airflow and column management is different, so you have to balance efficiency with quality,” says Woodruff. “There will be a maximum best temperature for each type of dryer.”

6 Do preseason maintenance
Before you start drying grain, make sure there are no obstructions in the columns and that the burner is ready to go. During harvest, empty, clean, and restart the dryer once a week to make sure the dryer is performing optimally. 

“Like any other piece of equipment, if you don’t take the time to clean it and keep it in operating mode, you are probably going to reduce your efficiency,” says Woodruff.

7 Avoid overdrying
Grain needs to be dried to a safe moisture level so it can be stored. This can range from 13% to 15%, depending on how long you will store the grain. However, you want to avoid overdrying. Grain takes more energy per point of moisture removed. So drying beyond the desired moisture level will eat up extra energy.

8 Use a remote monitoring system
One way to keep from overdrying is to use a remote monitoring system. These systems differ for each manufacturer, but most will allow you to monitor all dryer controls just like you would at the dryer from a smartphone, tablet, or other device. 

“Farmers want to be able to monitor their dryers in the combine, at home, wherever they are,” says Hartwig. 

With some systems, like Sukup’s remote monitoring and GSI’s WatchDog, you can also make adjustments remotely. 

“The only thing you can’t do is start the dryer without being there, because that would be dangerous,” says Woodruff. “You can adjust things like the plenum temperature, moisture control setting, and unload limits.”

Beyond avoiding over-drying, remote controls will also ensure that the dryer is running efficiently and hasn’t stopped for some reason. 

“The average dryer puts 2,500 bushels through an hour,” says Woodruff. “In 10 hours, that’s 25,000 bushels. If your dryer isn’t running for that long, that can make a huge difference.”

9 Manage dryability for different hybrids
“There is a lot of variation in the way different corn varieties dry,” says Hartwig. “Even with the same hybrid, there can be drying differences in different years.”

Woodruff says this has become more of an issue in the past five years. His recommendation is to closely monitor your dryer when you change fields or when you’ve changed varieties to make sure the dryer is running where you think it should be.

10 Check moisture controls
To make sure your dryer is running properly, pull samples, check the moisture control, and make sure the dryer is where it is supposed to be. 

“Moisture sensors are temperamental. It only takes one little stock of grain hanging up in the wrong place to throw their values off,” says Hartwig. “You should pull samples two to three times a day.”

11 Get an energy audit
“Sometimes you need someone who is willing to look at your entire operation to make sure that you are operating in the best way you can for your system,” says Woodruff. 

One way to do this is to get an energy audit. Your local NRCS office should have a list of businesses that conduct professional energy audits. 

A USDA REAP grant is available to help you upgrade your system if you can increase your efficiency by 25%.

“If you pursue a grant, work with a grant writer,” advises Woodruff. Learn more about the grant at Rurdev.usda.gov/energy.

Delta Farm Press recently reported that America’s Farmers Grow Ag Leaders is now launching in 40 states, with more than $500,000 worth of scholarships available. Sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the program provides $1,500 college scholarships to students pursuing a degree related to agriculture.

Starting Nov. 15, high school seniors and college students in eligible states can apply for this opportunity. Farmers know the rewards of a career in agriculture, but many of today’s youth may not. Luckily, there is an abundance of evidence that agriculture is a smart career choice. According to  USDA, nearly 55,000 jobs in agriculture are available every year. Many of the nation’s largest land-grant institutions, such as Penn State and Texas A&M University, report job placement rates above 90 percent for their ag students
.
Grow Ag Leaders helps engage future generations in agriculture by raising awareness of the broad range of career opportunities in the industry and by supporting their college education.

The program was created in response to farmer requests to keep rural youth involved in agriculture. Farmers can participate in the program by encouraging students in their community to apply for a scholarship and by endorsing their application.

Because farmers play a crucial role in the industry, each applicant is required to obtain endorsements from at least three local farmers. “We want to encourage ambitious and talented students to pursue careers in this growing field,” said Elizabeth Vancil, Youth and Community Outreach manager at Monsanto.

“As students who grew up in rural areas learn more about what agriculture has become, they are realizing that it is a fascinating, hi-tech industry, with job growth, job security, and high wages,” Vancil said. “These young people are seeing that there are emerging opportunities for a new generation of innovative young farmers, engineers, implement designers, marketing specialists and seed scientists.”

Grow Ag Leaders is part of the overall America’s Farmers campaign, which highlights the vital role played by farmers, through programs designed to support rural communities. Farmers interested in promoting the program and endorsing students’ scholarship applications can learn how at GrowAgLeaders.com.

The scholarships are administered by the National FFA Organization, but FFA membership is not required to apply. Students have until Feb. 1, 2015 to complete the application online at FFA.org/scholarships.

How to Reduce Risks for New Herbicide Resistant Plants

With all the new technology and herbicide resistant crops coming onto the market, there are risks of chemical application mishaps.  Farmers are being urged to use a free program to reduce those risks.

Agricultural engineer Dharmendra Saraswat from the University of Arkansas Division of Agricultural Cooperative Extension service helped develop the technology.  He recently spoke to Delta Farm Press about the new product.

On the program’s genesis:

“The flag the technology cloud (FTTCloud) program was launched last April, 2014, and is currently used by hundreds in Arkansas.

“The precursor to FTTCloud was initially launched in Clay County in 2010 -- but under a different name: Color Identifies the Field Technology (CIFT). Following the initial success, the program was launched statewide in 2011 and renamed ‘Flag the Technology.’ The changed name directly conveyed program’s focus on use of color coded flags to aid farmers in identifying which fields they are planting to what herbicide-tolerant technology.

Dicamba-tolerant crops soon to be a reality

“In subsequent years, Flag the Technology program also brought forth some unanticipated challenges. During the summertime, as farmers know very well, there are often gusts of wind. Those would sometimes pull the flags out of the ground and take them all over the place.

“In some cases, there were also mischievous people who would intentionally move the flags around.

“Obviously, movement of flags would be a cause of concern for chemical applicators. That’s perfectly understandable. ‘What if we rely on the flags and spray a product that injures the crop?’”

On the switch to a digital program…

“Due to these concerns we began considering how we could keep the program but ‘flag’ fields in a different way. In discussions with some county agents and forward-looking consultants and producers it was decided to launch a digital version of Flag the Technology program.

“The digital version doesn’t store any information on any of university servers. To provide quality experience to the current and potential users, the program has been hosted on a scalable cloud platform.

“The digital version, FTTCloud, retains the simplicity of its field-based precursor.

“Producers, consultants and chemical applicators can all participate after registering an account. The participation is voluntary. A registered producer can allow his/her consultant or chemical applicator to access complete information about entered fields by following certain protocol. The other registered users are provided essential information about herbicide technologies reported nearby or in the target field as new information is added to the program.

“Producers can either manually draw or upload field boundary data in shapefile format and then
interactively assign an individual field or a group of fields to herbicide-tolerant technology of their choice. The program assigns a color to the field based on selected technology. Fields with stacked technologies are also assigned colors, using a protocol slightly different from the field version of the program.

“The FTTCloud tool also allows users to identify other sensitive areas such as pumpkin patches, bee hives, fish ponds, vineyards etc., thereby not limiting its use to only those interested in row crops.

“Participation is free and the whole effort is being funded by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.”

On the digital program savings…

“When using actual flags, fields require an average of five flags. That is at a cost of about $25. If someone has 100 fields in herbicide-tolerant technology, that means an expense of $2,500. However, use of FTTCloud program costs nothing.”

An estimate on how much crop damage has been reduced through the use of the flags?

“That’s a good question. The program is aimed at avoiding risks. An erroneous chemical application can almost ruin an entire field. So, you’re protecting a field that can be worth several thousand dollars to, in some cases, six figures.”

Enlist traits approved, Enlist herbicide next

On the safety of farmers’ data…

“Misuse of online information is an obvious fear in the minds of many and farmers are no exception. The FTTCloud program explicitly recognizes that all the information entered belongs to the producer. The university has no role in accessing it. The information is encrypted and then stored on the cloud platform.

“Towards the end of each year, we will send emails to those who registered an account. That will remind them to download their information for next year’s use. We don’t encourage archiving the information since the university wants to limit its role to providing educational means for chemical risk aversion.”

Farmland on Hulu

I'm sure by now you've heard of the documentary "Farmland" directed by Academy Award winning director James Moll.  Well, in case you missed it in the theater's, you can now watch it on Hulu.  Just click here to watch it.  I thought it was a very educational documentary for folks who know very little about modern day agriculture.  Enjoy.

The Return of Agent Orange?

The USDA recently approved a new technology which conveys resistance to 2,4-D and glyphosate herbicides in corn and soybeans.  The anti GMO crowd was, as usual, up in arms again.

Delta Farm Press recently covered this reaction.  Those whole believe farming should remain in the stone age reacted predictably.  Some even compared this technology to Agent Orange, a herbicide used in the Vietnam war and has been connected to cancer among vets.

Let's take a look at what Agent Orange was.  It was a mix of two herbicides, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, with only the later associated with the negative impacts on health.  According to studies done by the National Pesticide Information Center, 2,4-D has not been implicated in any relationships between pesticide exposure and subsequent disease.

Despite all that information being out there, a New York Times reporter mentioned the Agent Orange connection.  This sent the anti GMO crowd into a frenzy.  Some news websites have even called it Agent Orange technology.

Fortunately there is science to calm everyone down.  Also, the USDA, EPA and farmers know better.  My hope is rational eventually takes over.  I understand peoples hesitance to this technology.  But it's unfounded.

Will this bring farming back to the "good old days"?  Where farmers could spray with impunity and no fear?  Far from it.  With all this new technology, farmers will have to make sure and spray properly and avoid as much drift as they can.  They will need to communicate better with their neighbor farmers on what they're doing and vice versa.

There will be lots of eyes watching this new technology.  And there are plenty of people out there who can't wait for something to go wrong.

Check Out the New Case IH Farmalls

Agriculture.com recently displayed the new equipment from Case IH.

Q&A with Monsanto CTO Robb Fraley

Robb Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer, is excited about the future, but he's looking for new ways to explain new technology with non farmers.

Monsanto has been on a roll these days, as the St. Louis based firm integrates its recent acquisitions with existing seed and trait businesses.

The recent buying craze started with the purchase of Precision Plantation in May of 2012.  "It used to be seeds at planting would land on top of the field, others would land below where you wanted to plant them," Fraley, Monsanto's executive vice president and chief technology officer, said during a recent interview with Agriculture.com.  "Now, were talking about a planter precisely controlled by hydraulics, with picket fence stands occurring."

In 2013, Monsanto also expanded into biotechnology with a Novozymes collaboration, and extensive weather data with its acquisition of The Climate Corporation.

"We are seeing all these technologies starting to integrate together," he says.

Not all has gone smoothly however.  A simple Google search of Monsanto turns up groups like March Against Monsanto and Millions Against Monsanto.  Also, some weeds and corn rootworms are resisting the companies weed-resistant and insect-resistant technology.

The following is a Q&A between Fraley and Agriculture.com.

AG: What excites you?
RF: Microbials and biological.  We are in the early stages of how useful they will be, but we see applications for control of insects, weeds and viruses.

AG: Did weeds and insects that resist transgenic technology surprise Monsanto?
RF: From the day we launched Roundup Ready soybeans (in 1996), resistance was always on top of our minds as a possibility.  We are always testing the next generation product.  In the case of corn rootworm, the science moved quickly, and we were able to replace a single gene product with dual gene products with multiple modes of action.  We are expecting RNAi technology to come into the market by the end of the decade.  This will defer from the Bt technology now used in corn rootworm traits.

AG: What's the state of the U.S. regulatory system?
RF: It's getting more complicated.  We are seeing more delays.  The EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) that USDA requested dicamba (Monsanto) and 2,4-D tolerant soybeans (Dow AgroSciences) has added another two years onto the time these products can get to the market.  We are complying, but we didn't think it was necessary.  The last two products we launched in Brazil took just two years to get government approval.  We are able to launch Roundup Ready Xtend (dicamba-tolerant) soybeans in Argentina before we launch it here.

AG: Aren't there concerns, such as off-target movement, about these new weed control technologies?
RF: I understand there are concerns.  We and BASF are doing a lot of work in developing new formulations of dicamba.  Dow is doing the same thing with new formulations of 2,4-D.  These new formulations are incredible.  I remember as a kid spraying Banvel and seeing volatility and drift.  Newer formulations have dramatically decreased off-target movement.

AG: How is Monsanto working to ease concerns about genetically modified foods?
RF: We're making a bigger effort to talk with consumers - in schools, with moms, with people who like us and people who don't.  We need different approaches.

AG: What will you be talking about in five years?
RF: We will talk about how big of an enhancement Roundup Ready Xtend has made across soybean production.  It is a great new tool for weed control.  We will also be talking about adoption of probably the third or fourth generation of FieldScripts.  These will build upon products that select the right seed for the field and for planting at optimal populations.

New Tool in Irrigation

The Oklahoma Mesonet, a network of environmental monitoring stations, is offering farmers a new irrigation tool to get "the most from the water.  It helps determine 'which and how much,'" said Al Sutherland, Oklahoma State University Mesonet Agriculture Coordinator, in a recent interview with South West Farm Press.

"Often in hot, dry summers, farmers simply turn on irrigation systems and let them run,' Sutherland said.  "But with subsurface drip irrigation systems and in years with more rain, producers need to make decisions on when to irrigate."

The system uses multiple factors including soil type, temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation to determine the evaporation rate.  An irrigation planner is also included to help farmers determine when and how much water to apply.

The Oklahoma Mesonet consists of 120 automated stations covering Oklahoma.  There is at least one Mesonet station in every Oklahoma county.

To view a video of the system, go to South West Farm Press.

Knock Down Weeds With Grit

If you're battling weeds in the field, a recent report shows that spraying them at this point may not work.  So what do you do?  Knock them down, literally.

A system being tested by USDA-ARS researchers in Minnesota.  Targeted primarily at organic production systems, the "Propelled Abrasive Grit Management" (PAGMan) replaces chemical with compressed air and "grit particles" to control weeds "around the base of the corn, soybean, and other row crops," according to a report from USDA-ARS by Jan Suszkiw.

The system expels .5 millimeter wide particles in a "cone shaped pattern" at a 100 pound/square inch rate.  The results have been eye opening.

"Field trial results from 2013 showed season long weed control levels of 80% to 90% in corn using two treatments of the abrasive grit - one at the first leaf stage, and the second at three or five leaf stage of corn growth," he said during an interview with Agriculture.com.

"Ongoing field trials may foretell of the systems potential to help organic growers tackle within row infestations of weeds that have sprouted around the base of corn, soybean and other row crops," he says.  "For organic systems, the grit selection can have more of an effect than just knocking down weeds."

Automated Soil Sampling

The detail is in the dirt.  As any practicing farmer knows, you must understand the land you're working on to get the greatest yield.  

The way most do that is buy hiring cheap labor to go into the field and retrieve soil samples by shovel.  Problem with that is, you often don't get good soil samples.  The workers are often more interested in quantity not quality.

Allen Baucom, a North Carolina farmer, said in a recent interview with Agriculture.com, "That probably wasn't smart, because the sample is too important to trust just anyone."

That's why he custom-engineered the Falcon - an automated soil-sampling system.

"The premise was to develop a system for taking quality soil samples and doing it efficiently and effectively.  The Falcon takes soil sampling from prehistoric to the future.  Gone are the days of time consuming, labor intensive, inconsistent, and tedious sample collection." says Baucom.  "Falcon technology delivers better samples and better analysis to make smarter input decisions."

Weighing 2,200 pounds, at the heart is a five foot diameter stainless steel drum.  Once lowered, a probe takes a sample every fifteen feet at a depth determined by the length of the probe, which can range from from four to twelve inches.

When the sample is collected, the drum is raised and a twelve volt motor takes over, which continues to rotate it, mixing the soil.  "This gives a good homogeneous sample of the area being probed," said Baucom.

A funnel then lowers into the drum, and the sample flows into an individual container.  As the funnel returns to its original position, the tray rotates itself to ready for the next sample.

"All of this is done without stopping," he notes.  "It's completely on the fly."

The tray holds twelve samples before it has to be replaced.  "On average, the system gathers twelve samples every forty minutes.  When the tray is full, you go to the back of the machine and grave another tray to take further samples," he explains.

The component on the back holds twelve trays.  "In total the system can hold one hundred and fifty six samples, which includes the tray collecting," he said.

A limited number of systems will be available at the end of September.  Base price is expected to be less than $50,000.

Monsanto's New Roundup Ready in 2016

In 2016 you'll be able to use Monsanto's Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System for dicamba-tolerant soybeans.
Monsanto officials say they expect the USDA to give the all clear for the Roundup Ready by the years end.  However, Chinese approval for the system's soybeans won't be done by the the end of 2014.

"In the interest of stewardship, that will push us back for (Roundup Ready Xtend) soybeans to 2016 (pending regulatory approval)," says John Combest, a Monsanto spokesperson during a recent interview with Agriculture.com.  He said the farmers need to know that Roundup Ready Xtend soybeans will be able to be exported.  It's key to have China's approval first before introducing the product to farmers.

Monsanto originally planed on releasing the product in 2014.  That was before the USDA decided to have Animal and Plants Health Inspections Services (APHIS) launch two separate environmental impact statements (EIS) for traits that tolerate 2, 4-D and diacamba herbicides.

Dow AgroScience is still aiming for a 2015 release of its Enlist Weed Control System that includes soybeans tolerant 2, 4-D.  Just how large the scope and size of the release is up to the US approvals and import approvals from foreign nations.  Like the Roundup situation, China is a stickler for gaining import approvals of Enlist system components.

"There are still some approvals that need to be gained there," says Damon Palmer, Dow AgroSciences US commercial leader for Enlist.  That applies to other soybean systems as well as Enlists technology.  Authorities in Canada, Australia, Japan, Colombia, Taiwan, and Mexico have all cleared Enlist components for export.

BASF Commitment to Research

What is BASF researching?  And what is the amount of effort and money they are putting in?  Markus Heldt, President, BASF Crop Protection recently answered those questions in an interview by Agriculture.com.

Waiting for Proper Time to Irrigate

With seemingly abundant water supplies in the five Delta states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, many can't understand why anyone would ever have to irrigate.  Crop histories show that at some point in every season irrigation would pay dividends in the five state area.

Recently Jason Krutz, irrigation specialist with Mississippi State University, took an ag editor from Delta Farm Press on a tour to educate about water issues facing the Mississippi Delta.  He discussed how the use of flow meters, moisture sensors, and surge valves have helped farmers grow the same, and sometimes, more crops with less water.

Krutz and several members of the Mississippi Sustainable Water Resources Task Force stopped at a field operated by Tim Clements near Leleand, MS.  They demonstrated how the new technology could one day help farmers alter the current situation in which Delta farmers are removing more water from the alluvial aquifer than it is taking in.

How to Feed 9 Billion People

This is your challenge.  In 30 years you're going to have to feed 9 billion people with less land and less water.  How do you do that?

To do this, farmers will have to use the best technology available.  Including some that isn't entirely popular with the public.

South West Farm Press recently covered a event featuring speakers discussing this very topic.  The most important thing is communication with the public.  The event was the Rolling Plains Spring Field Day held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station near Chillicothe.  The event featured Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Noble Peace Prize laureate known internationally as the "Father of the Green Revolution."

As well as speaking she moderated a wheat seed industry panel consisting of: Jon Rich with AgriPro-Syngenta in Junction City, KS; Marla Barnett with Limagrain Cereal Seeds in Wichita, KS; Sid Perry with WestBred-Monsanto in Filer, ID; and Janet Lewis with Bayer CropScience in Lincoln, NE.

March 25th was my grandfathers' birthday and many people have asked me if he was here today what would his message be about how we are going to feed 9 billion people by 2050," Borlaug said.  "I think he would probably tell you there are three areas we need to be concerned about."

Involve the Next Generation

"It's important for us to continue to train the next generation of agricultural scientist," Borlaug said.  "We need to engage students; we need engage those even outside of agriculture, because it's going to take people from various backgrounds across different disciplines to help figure out how to feed 9 billion people."

This will require new economic and political policies, advancements in engineering, medicine energy, but mostly agriculture.

We need what her grandfather called "hunger fighters."  Entrepreneurs, scientist, researchers, policy makers and farmers.

They need to embrace bold new ideas and work with people along different disciplines.  They must engage smallhold farmers and private and public sectors to come up with sustainable ideas.

"So we need to continue to reinvest in that and move our generation forward, so they will become the next Norm Borlaug and leaders in agriculture," she said.

Funding Dilema

"We need to re-engage the funding entities and those outside of agriculture to understand why their support is so important," Borlaug said.  "We are going to need a lot of technology and improvements to feed 9 billion people, especially with climate change and scarce natural resources."

The third thing she stressed is - "the misunderstanding and misinformation that's spread about agriculture."  She said that mainly comes from the anti-science, anti-GMO groups who don't understand the basic role of biotechnology in agriculture.

Borlaug said her grandfather was known to say "fear of change is the greatest obstacle to progress."

The ag sector must address the public differently.  People need to understand how important new technology, innovation and biotechnology are to our future.

"It is no longer enough to just have collective support of the research and private sector.  We must gain the support of the general public in order to move agriculture research forward."

Most arguments against these advancements are emotional and not rational.  They resonate because they fuel the anti-corporate mentality.

She brings up the GMO golden rice crop in the Philippines.  "Do you as biotech opponents really want to deny golden rice to those children who could so profoundly benefit?  Are you willing to condemn them to blindness and death out of your own ignorance?  I say out of your opposition, you are somewhat responsible for their vitamin A deficiency and blindness."

This is not to say biotechnology is the only solution.  "but we must understand that a multi-faceted integrated solution is needed."

Wheat Breeding

Wheat is the most important food crop in the world.  It's time to reinvest time and energy into the crop.  

"What's happened over the years is that in the U.S., wheat has not been looked upon as a high staple crop like corn and soybeans," Rich said.

There is a lower cost of molecular markers and the ability to "speed breed" to bring greater yields.  

"I think it has been largely customer-driven - seedsmen and farmer driven," Barnett said.  "We've seen the demand for wheat yields to be increased.  Farmers have long been asking, "Why am I still getting the same wheat yields my grandfather got while my corn yields have tripled?"

The industry has learned a lot from corn, soybeans, cotton and canola that can be applied to wheat.

GM Wheat?

Right now there is no GMO wheat on the market.  However, acceptance will be necessary the panel suggested.

"Most people don't know what GMO means; they don't know that GMO is a technique, a tool that can be used in the breeding toolbox," Lewis said.  "There is a lot of confusion on what GMO is, and it has been a slow process of education for the general public.  There is a perception issue."

The breeders agreed it is important to look into GMO and non-GMO solutions.  And if there is a non-GMO answer then that's the route to peruse because it's cheaper.  They also agreed research needs to be done on nitrogen use efficiency, heat tolerance and water use efficiency.

"We have a skeptical public, which is okay; but we also have a gullible public, which is discouraging," Perry said.  "They are willing to accept the popular view on something rather than scientific research.  So take every opportunity to educate the people around you."

GMO acceptance is more likely to come with food safety.

"It's an emotional issue to a lot of people, and an education issue," he said.  "We need to educate the people on what GMO traits can do and how we feed people correctly.  We can reduce the amount of pesticides; we can reduce the amount of nitrogen we put in the soil; we can reduce the amount of irrigation we have to apply to get those maximum yields."

In the end, the most important thing to the public will be the pocket book.  We need to make a loaf of bread cheaper and the production cheaper for the farmer.

"It's a real luxury here in the U.S. as long as our bellies are full and food is cheap, we can complain about having GMOs in our products," Perry said.  "But that is a real disservice to others in the world who don't have that luxury.  I don't know how we can get that across to our public; a lot of it is in their hands."

A Boost in Productivity

Current technology makes working the farm much easier.  However, what happens when it breaks down.  Well, nothing really.  Most farmers just continue on.  There really isn't time for stopping everything when your in the middle of a field far from home.

In an interview with Brownfield Ag News central Illinois farmer Judi Graf said, "There are just so many that make life so much easier on the farm.  You've got the mapping and the auto-steer.  You can live without those, but it just wouldn't be as fun."

What happens when the technology breaks down?  "I just keep going," she says.

Zach Hunnicutt from central Nebraska says, "There are times where you get to the point where you wonder what kind of trade-off you're making when you lose production hours trying to fix things.  We usually just try to make sure things are working."

While most aspects of farming don't need technology.  Some things can't operate properly without it.  Adam Casner from Western Missouri says, "Our plant tractor is hydraulic driven so we do need a monitor to control rates.  But as far as the combine, we don't let that stop us.  Last fall, cutting beans, we had a yield sensor go out and we didn't have anything.  But we kept going."

It's like that old saying.  Technology is great.  As long as it works.