Precision Pays

If you have an iPhone and would like to get Precision Pays posts fast and easy on it, there’s now an app for that. ZimmComm New Media this week introduced the Agwired iPhone app that allows quick access to all of ZimmComm’s on-line publications, including Precision Pays. The app is now available for iPhone users to download, free of charge, in the Apple iTunes store.

The app offers one-touch access to all the latest news and information in the agribusiness and agricultural marketing world posted on Agwired.com, including audio, photos and video, and connections to other ZimmComm news sites. The AgWired App features a news tab drop down menu to select ZimmComm News Network feeds as well as individual news on AgWired.com by category.

ZimmComm owns and operates four web-based news sites that are now accessible from the new iPhone app: Agwired, focused on news from the world of agribusiness; Domestic Fuel, which is all about renewable energy – from ethanol and biodiesel to wind and solar; World Dairy Diary for the dairy industry; and Precision Pays, which focuses on information about precision agriculture technology.

This morning’s opening session of the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) was certainly a good one, as attendees heard that while the world’s farmers have increased the rate of growth of the food they produce, the current increase doesn’t match the rise in the human population and its rising incomes expected by the year 2050 when it’s expected that we’ll share this world with 9.2 billion people.

Dr. Ken Cassman with the University of Nebraska’s Center for Energy Sciences Research told the standing-room-only crowd that without negatively impacting some of the world’s most sensitive ecosystems – the rain forests, wetlands, and grassland savannahs – the current rate of production growth won’t meet the rising demand. He says a process of increasing yields and reducing agriculture’s “footprint” is necessary: a process he calls “ecological intensification (EI).” And he believes precision agriculture could play a key role in that process.

“The buffer between proper management and poor management narrows, that is, the margin for error becomes smaller in terms of what helps the crop or what hurts the crop. So your precision of management becomes the single most important factor in helping farmers achieve yields near the yield potential ceiling.”

Cassman says the goal is to achieve 80 percent of a crop’s genetic yield potential while not increasing the impact that crop has on the environment. He says while biotechnology might help get us there, there is no magic bullet. It will take a combination of new technologies and techniques to hit that potential.

And a man who shared the stage with Cassman during the opening session believes we cannot play down the importance of testing and monitoring of fields to make sure the crops are living up to their potential. Dr. William Raun with Oklahoma State University also made a pitch for funding of extension services so that testing can take place.

“Extension is obviously important to us. We cannot just do research. We’ve got to have thousands of enrich strips and ramps out there in the fields and investing in that extension so farmers can see it.” And he adds that the numbers and formulas are out there to best forecast what can happen in a field. We just need to make sure it’s measured. “Yield potential can be predicted.”

It really was a great session. Because of the length of it, I can’t post all of the audio here, but I am going to let you hear the question and answer session after Cassman’s and Raun’s presentation. You’ll also hear from Dr. Raj Khosla during this segment. You can download or listen to this session at ICPA here: Opening Session Questions and Answers

I’ve also posted the day’s pictures on the ICPA Photo Album

The 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) has kicked off at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver and runs through Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

Throughout the day, hundreds of research scientists, producers, technology company representatives, equipment manufacturers, input dealers, agronomic consultants, software developers, educators, government personnel and policymakers have been pouring into the Mile High City from 40 different countries to look back on the past 20 years of precision ag innovations and to work together on the future of maximizing the potential of the world’s farmlands.

At the opening reception tonight, I caught up with Dr. Raj Khosla, the chairperson of the 10th ICPA and a professor at Colorado State University. He told me with 300-500 participants from such a wide variety of places around the world, he expects a large part of the conversation will be on the hot topic of food security.

“Precision agriculture has been mentioned as one of the soultions in meeting food security. Populations are increasing. People’s eating habits are changing.” And to meet those increasing demands, Khosla says they have to figure out how to translate some of the precision ag techniques used in the U.S. and apply them to lesser-developed countries. He says meeting the food demands of these growing countries could literally transform those societies.

“When you’re tummy is hungry is hard to listen to anything else other than feeding itself. There’s an opportunity for precision ag to contribute to lesser developed countries, smaller field sizes by coupling the technology and the [large labor markets].” He says it is just as important to use the same amount of labor to grow the larger quantities of food so precision agriculture doesn’t end up putting those workers out of jobs.

Khosla says precision agriculture is putting the right inputs in the right place, at the right time, and in the right manner. It’s a great conversation, and download or listen to Khosla’s interview at ICPA here: Dr. Raj Khosla

And check out the ICPA Photo Album

This sensor tracks fruit size as it grows.

As a agriculture tech geek, I’m continually fascinated by sensor technology–especially crop monitoring…wirelessly. Yes, some of it is high buck stuff right now. But the future potential for all crops exists.

To this end, check out this new Waspmote sensor board from Libelium. Currently targeted for high-end crops like wine grapes and greenhouse crops, it can monitor info from 10 sensors and 14 environmental parameters at one time.

This new Sensor Board for the Waspmote platform extends the award-winning Waspmote platform by supporting the measurement of the following key parameters:

• air temperature
• air humidity
• soil temperature
• soil moisture
• leaf wetness
• atmospheric pressure
• solar radiation
• trunk/stem/fruit diameter
• wind speed/direction
• rainfall

The board allows more than ten sensors to be connected at one time. Libelium’s CTO, David Gascón says “A Waspmote sensor network using the new board can measure irrigation effectiveness, crop growth and micro-climatic conditions as well as detect adverse weather events”.

Local variations in soil, drainage and evaporation can mean that irrigation is not uniformly effective. For example it is possible that, within a vineyard, some vine roots are too dry while others are waterlogged. If three soil moisture sensors are simultaneously placed at different depths the local water retention in the soil can be assessed. By measuring evapotranspiration it is possible to work out how much irrigation water is being actually absorbed by the plants. Using sensor data to automatically adjust irrigation to match local conditions conserves water and is equally applicable to vineyards, greenhouses and golf courses. Avoiding over-watering also helps prevent certain crop diseases including rot, fungi and bacteria which thrive in wet conditions.

Precision agriculture aims to optimise production by taking account of local soil and climatic variations. David Gascón says, “This new board enables vineyards to be controlled with a finer granularity than existing precision agriculture techniques”.

He explains, “Accurate dendrometers, capable of measuring changes in diameter of a few micrometres, allow the measurement of water intake of individual vines from irrigation. Using a PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) sensor checks the conditions for photosynthesis”.

The Agricultural Sensor Board is also highly applicable to greenhouses where the creation and control of microclimates is important to the growth of delicate crops such as exotic fruit. For mushroom farming, Waspmote’s Agricultural Sensor and Gas Sensor boards can be used together to measure and control soil moisture and temperature, CO2 level and air temperature.

The board also supports meteorological sensors such as air thermometer, hygrometer, anemometer, wind vane and rain gauges (pluviometer). If the temperature falls below a threshold, heating can be automatically started by the wireless sensor network. Meteorological sensors can trigger warnings in the event of adverse weather such as high wind or torrential rain.

Waspmote does not need to monitor values continuously and can spend long periods in a power saving mode. However if wind exceeds a threshold the anemometer will send a signal to wake up the Waspmote board. In hibernate mode the board consumes just 0.7 microamperes current resulting in outstanding battery performance. Should continuous measurement be required, a socket enables the board to be powered by a solar panel also available from Libelium.

And, you can get this info on your cell phone.

Harold Reetz and Jess Lowenberg-Deboer have been named co-recipients of the Legacy Award in the PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence program for 2010.

Harold Reetz has been a champion of technology and precision agriculture throughout his four decade-long career. Starting out in Extension in the Purdue University system in the 1970s, he assumed numerous leadership roles over the years and worked tirelessly as a champion for improving agronomic practices through education, research, outreach, and collaboration with like-minded growers and researchers from around the world. Reetz founded the InfoAg Conference in the mid-1990s as a way of getting people together to share experiences and build a networked community of vendors, users, and service providers. Now with Reetz Agronomics, Harold continues to champion the role of precision technologies in maximizing yield and minimizing environmental impact from crop production.

Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer is currently Associate Dean, Director of International Programs, and Professor of Agricultural Economics in the College of Agriculture at Purdue University, but his prior work in precision agriculture economics played an invaluable role in the growth of precision agriculture practices. His contributions included original research into the profitability of every aspect of precision agriculture, including tracking the adoption of technology at the farm and service provider level. He has published 55 articles in refereed journals, two books, and chapters in six other books, and his work has taken him to over 40 countries.

Both will be honored in Denver next month at the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture.

Corn genetics costs are driving more farmers to seek savings during planting season. And precision farming tools, such as planter row shutoff, are delivering fairly quick payback in many cases, depending on farm size and field shapes.

I spoke with central Iowa grower Steve Snyder this week to find out about his first planting season using row shutoff. “When my son Jon and I checked into the possible payback of the Ag Leader setup (Integra monitor, SureVac Electric Row Shutoff), the calculator said one year for our operation. But like Jon said ‘so what if it takes two,’ that’s still a no-brainer.”

While just two weeks removed from parking the planter for the season, he hasn’t had time to calculate actual seed savings for 2010. “I know we saved seed overall, especially on irregular-shaped fields. Before we had individual row shutoff, we used to plant 8 rows (half a planter) when we only needed two rows to finish the field. The other big savings I’m sure we’ll see is extra yield, because when you double plant, you basically end up with zero yield in those areas,” he says.

Snyder has two tractors with auto steer, and just planted his third season with a 16-row John Deere 1770NT CCS. “The main issue we were having with the planter was keeping population consistent due to ground slippage when running at higher vacuum settings. We solved that by adding Precision Planting eSet vacuum disks and Rawson hydraulic drives,” he says.

One added benefit that Steve hadn’t realized until using row shutoff was in time savings. “For 28 or so years we’ve always come to the end of the field, stop, lift, turn, stop and set it down, then go. Now, we don’t stop at all, and can lift the planter at any time and set it down early and never worry about double planting. That allows us to plant more acres in a day, and I’m much less tired thanks to auto steering.”

Snyder likes the simplicity of the SureVac set up and operation. It simply replaces the existing vacuum covers on each row. Electronics cut off the vacuum at the top of the seed disk to stop planting while seeds fall back into the meter’s seed pool. When the shutoff device pulls away, vacuum is restored and planting continues.

“With auto steer and row shutoffs, I can get by with a 16-row planter because I can cover ground really well. It’s really made planting faster and more enjoyable again,” Snyder adds.

For more information, visit

SureVac Shutoff http://www.agleader.com/products/seedcommand/

With the rapidly changing GPS/GNSS satellite technology, it’s smart to do your homework and understand the facts to find what best suits your farm (see the links below). Auburn University’s Daniel Mullenix, a research biosystems engineer, offered his advice recently on www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com.

When considering purchasing GPS/GNSS technology for your ag operation, it’s best to do your homework. As with most technology, Precision Ag technology is rapidly evolving and changing to better suit the needs of producers and allow them to become more efficient and better stewards of the environment.

The “buzz” words and hot topics of a few years ago may now have been replaced with “later and greater” gadgets. This is the case with GPS/GNSS technology. Recently, new signals have been established such as L2C and L5, which increase reliability of navigation and guidance operations. Likewise, manufacturers of guidance and navigational devices are now producing units capable of utilizing other countries satellite systems in conjunction with GPS. For example, several manufacturers make guidance receivers that are GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) capable; meaning they can utilize US GPS satellites as well as others (e.g. Russia’s GLONASS satellite system, etc).

This technology holds great advantages in that a GNSS receiver can utilize almost twice the number of satellites a GPS-only receiver is able to use. Additionally, cellular modems can now be used to obtain base station data via CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) or RTN (Real-Time Networks); increasing a producer’s distance from a base station from line-of-sight to over 25 miles when using RTK.

More satellite availability, new GPS signals, and cellular technology potentially means:

• less time for an RTK fix
• not having to wait for satellites to come into view
• not losing an RTK fix when against a tree line or other obstructions
• not having down time during hours of the day when GPS satellite geometry is poor
• increased distances from a base station
• no need for a personal base station
• greater mobility and efficiency

When investing in GPS/GNSS technology, consider:

• Is this system best for my operation, considering what’s on the market (GPS vs. GNSS, personal base station vs. CORS of RTN)?
• Will this system utilize other countries satellite systems so I get maximum satellite coverage?
• Can this system employ new GPS satellite signals (L2C and L5) so I get maximum reliability?
• Will this system allow me to be as mobile as I need to be (line-of-sight vs. 25-mile distance from a base station with a cellular modem)?
• Can I receive firmware updates for this system so I stay abreast of evolving technology?

For more information, visit www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com and see: Update on GPS: New Civilian Accessible Signals – L1C, L2C, and L5, Update on GPS: Explanation of GNSS, and RTK Networks: Cellular Modem Communication Technology.

Two more recipients of the 2010 PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence have been announced.

For Precision Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur, the award goes to Clint Jayroe and the OptiGro Team, part of the Jimmy Sanders, Inc. retail operation based in Cleveland, MS. The Education/Extension award recipient for 2010 is Dr. Terry Griffin, professor of economics at University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

OptiGro provides agricultural advice, information, and precision agriculture resources to farmer-customers designed to provide maximum return on investment. OptiGro includes trained Certified Crop Advisors utilizing the latest software applications paired with Web transmission and integration for agricultural data processing, storage, and analysis. OptiGro improves the productivity and profitability of each customer through a higher level of management and expertise.

Jimmy Sanders, Inc. has been an agricultural leader and innovator in the Mid-South since 1953, serving production agriculture with farm inputs and on-farm expertise in all aspects of the unique needs of the Mississippi River Delta region. They service a diverse crop mix of rice, cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, grain sorghum and even specialty crops such as sweet potatoes and peanuts.

Griffin has conducted economic analyses such as tracking technology adoption and evaluating farm-level profitability of yield monitors, variable rate applications, and GPS-enabled navigation technologies; but he has also worked with scientists not traditionally associated with precision agriculture such as gerontologists to study how GPS guidance impacts the quality-of-life of older farmers or those who suffer from disabilities.

He is active internationally collaborating as the economist and spatial econometrician with agricultural scientists from Germany, South Africa, Argentina, United Kingdom, and Australia, in addition to his domestic work in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana on analyzing site-specific data.

Readers of PrecisionPays.com know the value of how satellites and accompanying technology has totally changed farming. And as a journalist who has covered the precision agriculture industry before it’s birth, I’m jealous of some technologies that I want for my car–like auto steering.

While that technology is a ways off into the future, Gearlog.com posted a recent piece on how unscrambled GPS has helped consumers. It listed a few benefits we’ll see before self-driving cars.

More efficient hybrids. A hybrid car is good for half a mile to two miles in EV (electric vehicle – only) mode but the car typically keeps the hybrid battery topped up as soon as it gets a chance. With a smarter GPS receiver that talks to the car’s navigation system and to the charging system, the GPS could advise the car it’s about to head down a long hill in a mile, but only after two hills. The car would use the electric motor on the hills, or whatever works best for efficiency, and arrive at the start of the downhill with the hybrid battery nearly depleted, then use the downhill to recharge the battery. The result would be improved economy.

Predictive swiveling headlamps. On higher-end cars, the headlamps swivel lift and right when you turn the wheel. With more accurate GPS, the car would start to turn the headlamps a second or two before the road curves. That adds a small measure of safety. Plus, on a dark country road at night, sometimes it’s hard to recognize if you’re seeing the road marking curve sharply to the right, or if that’s an angled white rail fence 20 yards off the highway. The headlamps could help show you the way.

Ultra-accurate speedometer. A GPS system also calculates your speed. Car speedometers are often inaccurate by a couple miles per hour, sometimes to insure that even if you use a slightly different diameter tire, you’re never going faster than the speedometer indicates. Some drivers like the insurance factor of a mechanical speedometer that reads high by a couple mph. Others may want to know that when the speedometer shows you’re doing 68 mph, you’re doing 68, not 65, 66, or 69. So you could use GPS to apply a correction factor to your speedometer. Or not. No doubt all these features would be ones you could enable or disable, at your discretion.

Read more details here.

HarvestMaster just made field data collection a little easier.

HarvestMaster is pleased to announce the release of Field Layout as part of the Field Research Software (FRS) suite. FRS provides a comprehensive solution for mobile field data collection. FRS Field Layout is a new addition to the FRS suite, and is used to map field boundaries with GPS technology. When using Field Layout, a field researcher can set the corners of a field, determine the number of plots within a field, and check that the field is square for planting, all without the help of any additional technicians.

FRS Field Layout on a GPS enabled Windows Mobile® device is designed to assist researchers in establishing field boundaries. Field Layout replaces traditional methods that depend on laborious processes using tape measures, right angle prisms, range finders, and an extra person. Field Layout utilizes GPS signals to define and mark the four corners of the field and lets the user measure distance between any two points to verify location and accuracy. Once a field map has been generated, FRS Field Layout creates individual plots within the defined field boundary. When returning to plant the field, FRS displays field boundaries quickly and allows efficient navigation to those positions.

To evaluate FRS Field Layout, download a demonstration version at http://harvestmaster.com/HarvestMaster/support/Downloads.

An Illinois corn and soybean producer has been named 2010 Farmer of the Year in the PrecisionAg Awards Of Excellence program. Ken Dalenberg of Mansfield, Illinois was recognize for the role he has played in helping to develop and promote new agricultural technology for crop management.

Ken has worked with a number of research projects on his farm to evaluate precision farming technology, along with other innovative products and practices through the University of Illinois, the Potash & Phosphate Institute, the United Soybean Board, and others. He has also served on several Boards of Directors and Research Committees for the American Soybean Association, United Soybean Board, and Illinois Soybean Association, where he helped provide funding and oversight for research projects throughout the US. He has also been involved in numerous overseas programs to help improve soybean production and markets globally.

Ken has helped promote precision farming by doing it, and by sharing his experience, says Reetz. “He has opened his records and his farm to others to share what he is doing and learning. He frequently hosts farmers and industry visitors to show what he is doing and how the technology is being put to use.”

While the United Kingdom has been slower to adopt precision farming practices compared to the U.S., they claim to already achieve “four times the yield of the American Midwest,” says a recent article in GeoConnexionUK magazine.

Precision farming service provider SOYL and satellite image provider DMCii are working together to fulfil the specific needs of UK agriculture. It’s a convincing partnership: DMCii’s unique imaging capabilities guarantee regular, up-to-date UK imaging, while SOYL understands the farmer’s agronomy requirements.

SOYL works with all sizes of farm. Its experienced agronomists provide information in a format that is both familiar and optimised for a farmer’s own specific set of requirements. Note that this is a consultative process designed to overcome the traditional barriers of trust and understanding that are associated with a new technology, while also lowering the risk to farmers themselves.

Read the story to learn more about precision farming progress in the UK.

Precision communications to consumers is every bit as important as your precision farming. Check out how these farmers are joining together to help other farmers like you communicate your story.

Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. LinkedIn. More frequently, these are services being accessed from the turnrow, tractor’s seat and barn. Farmers are tapping into social media services more frequently, especially since the weekly streaming conversation called AgChat was founded on Twitter last year. As many offices closed Friday for holidays, farmers launched the AgChat Foundation online. Hundreds of people talked about the new website and the mission to empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms.

Farmers Jeff Fowle of California, Darin Grimm of Kansas, Mike Haley of Ohio and Ray Prock of California were strangers a year ago. They built friendships and began doing things that supported each other’s farming segments after meeting in the online AgChat discussion.

“I’d say the effort Ray and I spearheaded to raise awareness in the economic crisis for dairy farms was where we began to realize how well we could do in telling our stories online. It’s also the first time some of us really focused toward a common goal,” Haley explains. “We think AgChat Foundation will help other farmers share their experiences as we learn from each other about how to put the true faces and stories of American agriculture.”

Prock explains, “We’ve had these ideas and after tossing them around for months, all of us agreed, if farmers didn’t take ownership for moving this forward, we couldn’t really expect anyone else to. And as we worked on our ideas, a number of others have offered suggestions and a lot of time of their personal time to help us realize this vision.”

The Foundation has four program areas focused on social media:
• Agvocacy 2.0 Training: Educate farmers through basic, mid-level & expert training to move mindsets up the technology ladder.
• Strategic Agvocacy Coordination: Empower agriculture’s voice through coordinated industry-wide efforts.
• Data Analysis: Provide tools to assist agvocates with targeted community efforts.
• Technology Scholarships: Equip farmers with infrastructure to enable full use of social media.

Each of the founding farmers believe in these four areas and social media so deeply, they each have elaborated on them by shooting videos that can be accessed through the Foundation’s new website http://agchat.org, by going to http://youtube.com/agchat or through the links above.

Fowle points out that the programs are meant to be broad. “It becomes very apparent through social media that there is a great diversity of farm stories. My family runs our ranch one way and we may have a neighbor across the valley that makes very different choices. The real value of social media comes from farmers telling their own story from their own perspective.”

Michele Payn-Knoper admits that when she started AgChat a year ago, she had no idea how quickly it would grow. “The talent and dedication the farmers and ranchers who helped bring the AgChat Foundation to fruition is absolutely inspiring. All of them have applied their technology skills and commitment to the betterment of agriculture in ways that set them apart, but we are all confident this is a common thread among farmers who raise our food, fuel, feed and fiber.”

Volunteers have been part of AgChat on twitter for a long time, providing moderation of discussions, etc and adopting more ways to reach out to both members of the ag community and the general public as well.

Even Grimm finds himself amplifying their voice online. “My friends and family would be surprised about how vocal I’ve become online cause I’m somewhat of an introvert, but I’ve seen a lot of power from farmers sharing their stories and am trying to do the same. Most of us think our story is pretty boring but you find that some of the most common things we do on the farm are some of the most interesting to people in cities and suburbs.”

Data shows that almost 300 people sent messages on Twitter Friday and driving more than 1,500 people to access AgChat.org and reaching almost a quarter of a million people in the 1.4 million impressions.

The AgChat Foundation seeks to involve all sectors of agriculture in this effort, encompassing diverse viewpoints such as conventional, organic, small and large operations. Our focus is to bring agriculture together, rather than segment and diminish our industry by focusing on size, region or production differences. The board of directors of farming represents diverse types of family farms across North America.
• Chris Chinn, Farmer
• Jeff Fowle, Rancher
• Mark Gale, Agribusiness Liaison
• Eliz Greene, Consumer & Healthcare
• Darin Grimm, Farmer
• Mike Haley, Farmer
• Shaun Haney, Seedsman
• Michele Payn-Knoper, #AgChat Founder
• Ray Prock, Farmer
• Dr. Chris Raines, Extension
• Dr. Katherine Swift, Veterinarian
• Tricia Braid Terry, Check-off Representative
• Chuck Zimmerman, Agribusiness Liaison

The advisory committee provides perspective from agricultural organizations, farms, consumers and technology experts. The AgChat Foundation is a registered Indiana non-profit seeking 501(c)(3) status. The Board of Directors maintains all fiduciary responsibilities and oversees the programming.

With auto steering and RTK guidance correction, Mississippi farmer Chip Davis can plant and harvest 24/7 when he needs to, according to a recent story in Delta Farm Press.

For farmers, says Chip Davis, “There are toys and there are tools. We all have our toys — but for something to be a tool, you have to make more from it than you pay for it. For me, a guidance system is a tool that not only helps to be more efficient, it also gives an excellent return on the investment.”

Davis has one Trimble stand-alone system that he shares between a tractor and a combine, and another Trimble/Mid-Tech system that is devoted to a single tractor and is capable of both guidance and variable rate application. The shared system only takes about 10 minutes to swap from the combine to the tractor.

Although the manufacturers don’t guarantee or promote it, he says, studies have shown RTK systems can be accurate to one-half centimeter, about a fourth the width of a penny.

“We’re big on no-till, and with that kind of precision, we can put a seed right back in the same trench as the previous year, and we can do it row after row.

“We can do straight A-B guidance, or we can set up irregular patterns, or pivot circles. Pretty much whatever you need, you can do.”

He has the systems configured for various fields and crops and for various operations — fertilizing, planting, chemical applications, etc.

For more details, read the story.

The PrecisionAg Award of Excellence program is still accepting nominations for “the most important people and programs that have helped agriculture realize the full benefits of technology to improve agronomy, efficiency, and stewardship in crop production.”

The awards are given in the following categories:

• Educator/Researcher Of The Year
• Legacy Award
• Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Of The Year
• Farmer Of The Year

Award nominations must be submitted by a sponsor — any individual or individuals, company, or organization. Nominees can be working with precision technology anywhere in the world. Nominations can be made electronically or via downloadable entry form. Entries will be reviewed and scored by a three-judge panel based on the criteria indicated on the nomination forms. Winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in their honor at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Denver, CO, July 18-21, 2010.

Deadline for entries is May 7. More information is available from PrecisionAg here.