As the days in the Northern Hemisphere slowly get shorter, they are getting longer in the Southern Hemisphere and everywhere growers are starting to prepare their equipment in anticipation of the upcoming harvest. In the U.S., 26% of corn...

Agile Networks, a leading provider of telecommunications solutions, and Microsoft Corp. has announced a new agreement to bring broadband internet access to rural areas in Ohio, reaching 110,000 currently unserved people and greatly expanding access in underserved rural areas. According...

Rather than breaking things down into smaller, bite-sized pieces that are easily digested, we’ve learned to over-indulge in data, quickly leading us to become bloated with un-actionable results. Big data is one of the most buzzed-about...

  InfoAg 2018 - Union Station, St. Louis, MO. InfoAg, precision farming’s annual mid-summer blowout, is about a week in the rearview as I type this, a hazy Midwestern summer morning underway here in Ohio. Seven days later,...

The world of technology-based solutions has been increasingly flooded with buzzwords like “analytics”, “big data”, and “Internet of Things”. In the past few years, the availability of cost-effective, large-scale cloud computing and open-source scientific programming libraries has led to...

Jason Tatge, Farmobile CEO, shows us the latest Farmobile PUC for the 2018 growing season, at Commodity Classic 2017 in Decatur, IL. Busy times these days out in Leawood, KS, for ag data startup Farmobile, as...

We live in an exciting time in agriculture. Not only is technology advancing rapidly, but the understanding and comprehension of technology and data is becoming easier to decode and decipher. By 2050, the population of Earth will amass 9.7...

There is no doubt that advancements in genetics, precision agriculture, and innovative farming practices have all played an instrumental role in increasing field production. When examining field production in the U.S., it is clear the agriculture revolution that has...

Accurate prescription maps are essential for effective variable rate technology (VRT) fertilizer application. Grid soil sampling is frequently used to develop these prescription maps. However, research indicates technical and economic limitations associated with this approach. For example, samples need...

Farmers Business Network (FBN) recently completed Ag Data Transparent (ADT) third-party certification, affirming that the FBN network’s data and analytics services are private and secure. “The FBN network was created to help put Farmers First through the power of networking...

In 2015, an estimated $800 million worth of crops in Georgia — a number that amounted to about 13.8% of the state’s total crop value — was lost to plant disease, according to the University of Georgia. Worldwide the...

Ron Farrell, a frequent sounding board for my wacky ideas and a source of ongoing encouragement to stay the course in this fast-changing industry, once told me to spend an appreciable amount of my time thinking about the business,...

In previous articles, I tried to lay out some logical components and processes that enable digital farming to get inside of the decision loop and provide decision quality outcomes. It is no surprise that digital farming is taking a...

This month, I am taking a break from discussing weather technology or opining on how to better apply weather and soil information to agricultural problems. Instead, I am awakening my inner “weather weenie” to discuss our recent weather patterns...

Growers such as Steve Pitstick can now use new intelligence gained from industrial AI seamlessly and autonomously in the context of their daily workflow to make smarter decisions. I go to great lengths to speak with...

AgGateway and USDA have forged an agreement to work together on data projects to benefit American farmers in the transition to digital agriculture. The current agreement will consist of a series of efforts over the next 20 months; all...

The five finalist teams for the 2018 Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics during the award ceremony at the 2018 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research in Baltimore, MD. Last week I attended the 2018...

Precipitation is arguably the most important agricultural weather parameter, yet it is the most difficult variable to precisely measure. For a wide variety of agronomic decisions, accurate tracking of actual rainfall during the course of a season can be...

Today, a seemingly endless amount of ag data flows from growers’ fields into a host of technology platforms. It is top of mind given the Facebook data breach involving Cambridge Analytica that compromised millions of users’ personal information. With...

Bayer's xarvio made quite the splash at Agritechnica 2017 in Hannover, Germany, back in November. Germany’s Bayer plans to sell its digital farming business to BASF as part of changes to concessions it has offered to...