Google invests in computerized farming network

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  Google is investing in a computerized farming network that uses data to help farmers increase their productivity and save money.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Google is investing in a computerized farming network that uses data to help farmers increase their productivity and save money.
  The network is called Farmers Business Network Inc., and it recently closed a $15 million investing round led by Google’s venture capital division. The company intends to spend the money to expand its field analysis service to collect data on seeds and soil in more states and crops.
  Currently, the network covers 7 million acres of cropland in 17 states, mostly in the Midwest. It analyzes 16 crops including corn, soybeans and wheat.
  The company uses computer systems to evaluate public and private data on crop yields, weather patterns and planting practices and then sells advice to farmers on how to increase their yields and cut wasteful spending.
  Farmers can join Farmers Business Network for $500 per year. They then can submit their farms’ data on past crop yields, which seeds were planted, fertilizer use and other information. The company standardizes its data and analyzes it based on data from other farmers and the company’s own database. The farmer then receives an analysis that shows how that farm’s crops performed compared with other farms working with similar soils and seeds, along with suggestions on changes to planting and crop rotation.
  The company also is developing tools to evaluate pesticide and fertilizer use.

The future of technology in agribusiness

Alltech's Chief Information Officer Tim Arthur described how technology will be used in the future in agriculture during the 30^th Alltech Symposium.
Predictive analytics, such as weather forecasts, are currently used in agriculture. In the future, prescriptive analytics will be incorporated to make business decisions on our behalf. The United Parcel Service (UPS) currently uses prescriptive analytics to direct its packages around the world, but this technology has yet to make its way to the farm due to its high cost. However, “The $100,000 you have to invest in technology now will [cost] $1,000 10 years from now,” said Arthur.
Arthur described a world in which a farmer would not have to visit his or her complex in order to discover coccidiosis in poultry or to address porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus in swine, because programs will act on behalf of the farmer to take corrective action. He also suggests that this technology will be applied to grain fields, tractors and animal nutritional needs.

Alltech Symposium: Technology’s role in agriculture growing

The face of agriculture is changing, and new growing techniques like aquaponics, vertical agriculture and greenhouses are just some of the most visible examples, said Karl A. Dawson, chief scientific officer, Alltech. Dawson provided what he termed “six insights” in to how we are going to feed a planet with 9 billion people to the audience of the Alltech Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky.
Dawson said that more people today are interested in where their food comes from. The rapid increase in the number of farmers’ markets in the U.S., up 75 percent in the last five years, was cited as an example of the growth of the local food movement. He said that local and/or organic food shows that consumers are developing a different vision of quality. Dawson said that there doesn’t have to be a conflict between small organic farms and modern industrial farming.
Big data is coming to agriculture
The collection of more information allows for better and timelier decisions, according to Dawson.
“Because of new technologies we can monitor all aspects of production,” he said. Molecular tools allow for measurement of gene expression in livestock and the interaction with nutrition. “We can tell you more about your feed, your animals and interactions with the feed,” Dawson said.
Predictive models will be developed to interpret all of this data, and Dawson said that this will drive our view of productivity, product value and overall well-being.
Dawson said that people will change the way that they eat, and will employ new nutritional approaches. He said that research on the importance of the ratio of mega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the diet are just one example of how we are on the verge of a nutritional revolution in human health.
In what Dawson described as the “new standards” for human nutrition, he said that we will look at common nutrients in a different way. For example, he said that mineral content does not define the ability to meet requirements, the form in which these minerals are included in the diet matters. Fat plays multiple roles in the diet; it isn’t just an energy source. Similarly, carbohydrates have key functional roles in metabolism and isn’t just an energy source. He said, “Nutrient interactions are going to define nutritional value.”
Data sharing will also allow for complete traceability throughout the food chain. Integrating the information across the food chain will allow for a reduction in food waste, Dawson said.

EuroTier Innovations awards three gold, 18 silver medals

EuroTier has announced its Innovations awards, including three gold and 18 silver medalists. The German Agricultural Society setup an international commission of experts to assess the innovations submitted by EuroTier exhibitors.

Gold Medals:
SonoCheck 
Big Dutchman Pig Equipment, of Vechta, Germany, won for its SonoCheck -- an automated system for pregnancy examinations in sow group management in conjunction with Big-Dutchman demand feeding.
Automatic Milking Rotary System AMR 
DeLaval International, Tumba, Sweden, won for its DeLaval AMR -- an automatic milking rotary that automates udder preparation, attachment of the milking cups and teat spraying on a rotary platform.
Galactor – the milking taxi 
Siliconform Vertriebs, Türkheim, Germany, won for its Melktaxi (milking taxi) -- a milking guidance system in an auto-tandem milking parlour connected with rail-bound transport of the milker and automated milking parlour cleaning after milking.
Read more about all of the 2010 EuroTier Innovations award recipients.

Exhibitors’ innovations offer star appeal

Visitors to this year’s edition of the trade show SPACE were not disappointed; we take a tour of what’s new. Read the full article.