Ag-Tech Needs to Collaborate

Agtech Companies Need to Integrate and Collaborate

By Tim Hammerich with the Ag Information Network 

As technology for the farm has developed, new problems have emerged. Two big ones for autonomous farming, said Carbon Robotics CEO Paul Mikesell, are too many separate applications that don’t integrate, and no way for companies to interact with each other on the farm level.

“We have this sort of field readiness for autonomy problem that I think we’re going to have to work together to overcome so that we can have a cooperative environment. Airplanes do this with a system called ADS-B where they talk to each other. We need to have some way for these different companies to work together so that they don’t bump into each other, and so that they can schedule around each other. And it’s not even just the autonomous stuff, but it’s things like where are the center pivots and what direction are they going? And things like that,” said Mikesell.

Mikesell noted at an even more fundamental level, all of ag-tech needs better ways to integrate with each other so that farmers don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time they want to add a new tool.

“What I think would be bad for everybody is if all of these companies went out and had their own independent walled garden platform. And then as a farmer, you don’t have any, the ability to jump from one to the other or aggregate the data together.” explained Mikesell. “As a farmer, you want to be able to see all that stuff together, and if everybody’s doing this separate and there’s not an open platform, we’re going to wind up in a spot that just makes things worse. You know, like why do you have so many apps on your phone, right? It’s because well everything tries to keep itself separate.”

Carbon Robotics is one ag-tech company seeking collaboration in these areas.

 

2021-09-07T20:56:15-07:00September 7th, 2021|

AgTech Honors Women That Solve Modern Problems!

‘From Farms to Incubators’ exhibition honors women who merge ag and tech to solve modern problems

Multimedia exhibition premiers Nov. 12 at National Steinbeck Center

The modern intersection of agriculture and technology has brought to the forefront a diverse generation of women working to overcome rising challenges through new perspectives and solutions.
A new special exhibition at the Steinbeck Center in Salinas lifts up stories of these innovators to help inspire and encourage young women to consider careers in agtech.

“From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech” uses multimedia and digital storytelling – including video, documentary and still photography – to honor these groundbreaking pioneers. The exhibition is the brainchild of Amy Wu an award-winning journalist for women’s ag and agtech movement and the creator of “From Farms to Incubators.”

 

“My passion to unearth underreported stories and amplify new voices is what led me to highlight the stories of emerging communities in agriculture,” says Wu. “Ultimately, I hope the exhibition, film series and book serves as vehicles to inspire youth – especially those from rural or underserved communities – to consider that agriculture extends far beyond tractors and overalls and it is a sector that offers an amazing range of opportunities that involve innovation.”

 

Michele Speich the Executive Director National Steinbeck Center says:

“Women for centuries have played a vital role in farm operations across the country and globally. We are thrilled that Amy Wu has chosen to tell the stories of minority women entrepreneurs in Agtech in the Salinas Valley and beyond in a book and in an exhibition at the National Steinbeck Center,” says Speich.

Presented by the group From Farms to Incubators, the exhibition kicks off Thursday, Nov. 12 with a virtual opening event from 4-6 p.m. PACIFIC TIME, with viewing available through Jan. 12.

 

The virtual opening will include special speakers including California Senator Anna Caballero, Dennis Donohue the head of Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology and Karen Caplan the president and CEO of Frieda’s Specialty Produce, a panel discussion led by leading women innovators in ag and agtech, and a sneak preview of the exhibition and films.

Attendees have the opportunity to win prizes, including a copy of the forthcoming book “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech,” telling the stories of women entrepreneurs who use technology to help solve problems ranging from climate change and limited water to uncertainties in immigration policy.  The book will be published in April 2021 under Linden Publishing’s Craven Street Books division, specializing in titles on California and the history of the western United States.

Many of those portrayed are women of color who come from diverse backgrounds, the first in their families to complete higher education. What drew them into the nascent but fast-growing sector of agtech? What caused them to uproot themselves to pursue a start-up dream in an industry that continues to be dominated by men? How are they getting their innovation into the hands of growers?

The exhibition and the book attempt to answer these questions and create awareness of women leaders and entrepreneurs.

The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif., is dedicated to Steinbeck’s creative legacy: to participate, to inspire, to educate, and to understand one another. Find out more at www.steinbeck.org.

 

“From Farms to Incubators” is a multimedia platform that uses digital storytelling to increase awareness of women leaders and entrepreneurs and their contribution using technology through the agriculture sector, and encourage women to pursue careers in agtech. Find out more at www.farmstoincubators.com

 

For more information email Amy Wu at amy@farmstoincubators.com or call 914-771-1275.

 

 

 

 

2020-10-12T11:24:45-07:00October 12th, 2020|

Organization is the Missing Link to Supply Chains

Grower Distribution Difficult

By Mikenzi Meyers, Contributing Editor

Creating a link between growers and the distributions of their commodities is becoming increasingly difficult. Aaron Magenheim with AgTech Insight based out of Salinas is helping to create a more efficient communication system to bring supply chains together.

Magenheim described a situation last year where Walmart required IBM technology in order to sell leafy greens, but when growers asked how to implement the technology, they could not get a clear answer. “We need to help move this industry forward and have the right people that work together and understand the right direction,” he said.

Another issue Magenheim has seen is the lack of data on failed trials. This is especially a problem in California, where there is a constant push to test new products. Whether it be hiring an analytics team or making sure growers record their ROI (return on investment), Magenheim said organization is the key to moving forward.

2021-05-12T11:05:03-07:00June 18th, 2019|

Ag Start Provides a Place to Start for Agriculture Innovations

California Ag Start Helps Startup Companies

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

With the help of corporate sponsors, new agriculture technology companies are making strides to improve efficiency for growers. California Ag Start, a nonprofit incubator for startup companies in the food and agricultural technology sector, is helping to process these sponsors and support innovations throughout the industry.

“We have access to our corporate sponsors who are also in the Ag Technology space, and we can access some of their science and other professionals as mentors to these startup companies,” said John Selep, President of AgTech Innovation Alliance—the 501(c)3 non-profit behind Ag Start.

One of the ways Ag Start is helping to improve efficiency in the field comes from a company using hyperspectral imagery to check nutrients in soils. “They can actually do almost a continuous scan as a plow is going through the field and develop a continuous map of the nutrient profile within that soil,” Selep explained.

Typically, when a grower tests their soil, they pick two to three spots to sample from and will not receive data on it for a couple of days. According to Selep, hyperspectral scanning will not only help eliminate that wait time, but will provide a much more detailed analysis of the entire field.

“You’d be much more precise about where you put nutrients. Just enough in the places it’s needed as opposed to blanketing the field and pouring on gallons of fertilizer,” Selep said.

2021-05-12T11:05:03-07:00June 14th, 2019|

Digital Technology in Agriculture Will Grow Faster

Digital Technology is Making Huge Leaps in Ag

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Digital technology is making huge leaps in agriculture. California Ag Today recently spoke with Kirk Haney, CEO of Radicle Growth, a venture capitalist fund concentrated on developing new, innovative companies focused on food, agriculture, health, and sustainability. Agriculture and construction are considered the least digitized industries in the world.

“Everything is digital, everything is being managed, measured, and it is going to happen in agriculture in the same way not only as digital is coming but it brings competition with data sharing,” Haney said.

According to him, if you do not start capturing your data and then sharing it in a way that is going to make you more competitive, your business is going to struggle.

“In terms of the incredible entrepreneurship that we are seeing, the speed at which technology is changing, processing power, chips, the power of iPhones—we are talking about the power of cloud computing and [in] another two years, the power of cloud computing will be in the palm of your hand … on the 5G network,” he said.

The cloud computing will change the way that farmers run their operations. The data stored on these devices will only help farmers increase their precision and improve their farming practices.

Truly, ag is the last frontier, and Haney believes that satellites will soon be used to detect bugs in fields.

“New camera vision technologies can actually, through thermal infrared, spot early pest detection to check out and treat whatever you need to do,” Haney said.

2021-05-12T11:00:36-07:00May 30th, 2019|

UC DroneCamp Coming June 18-20

UC Offers Drone Workshop for Mapping, Research, and Land Management

By Pam Kan-Rice, UC Ag & Natural Resources

People who are interested in using drones for real-world mapping are invited to attend a three-day intensive drone workshop in the Monterey Bay area. The third annual DroneCamp will be offered from June 18 to 20 by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Informatics and GIS Program. No experience with drone technology is needed to participate.

Drone mapping involves taking high-resolution photos with drones and stitching them together with software to make extremely accurate, orthorectified maps. More difficult than videography, it is widely used in agriculture, construction, archeology, surveying, facilities management, and other fields. DroneCamp will cover all the topics someone needs to make maps with drones, including:

  • Technology—the different types of drone and sensor hardware, costs and applications
  • Drone science—principles of photogrammetry and remote sensing
  • Safety and regulations—learn to fly safely and legally, including tips on getting your FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
  • Mission planning—flight planning tools and principles for specific mission objectives
  • Flight operations—hands-on practice with both manual and programmed flights
  • Data processing—processing drone data into orthomosaics and 3D digital surface models; assessing quality control
  • Data analysis—techniques for analyzing drone data in GIS and remote sensing software
  • Visualization—create 3D models of your data
  • Latest trends—hear about new and upcoming developments in drone technology, data processing, and regulations

On the first day, DroneCamp instructors will discuss drone platforms, sensor technologies, and regulations. On the following two days, participants will receive hands-on instruction on flying safely, using automated flight software, emergency procedures, managing data, and turning images into maps using Pix4D mapper and ArcGIS Pro.

Registration is $900 for the general public and $500 for University of California students and employees. Registration includes instruction, materials, flight practice and lunches. Scholarships are available.

This year, DroneCamp is being held in conjunction with the Monterey Bay DART (Drones Automation & Robotics Technology), which is holding an industry symposium on Friday, June 21. DroneCamp participants get a $50 discount to attend the symposium.

For more information and to register for DroneCamp, please complete the registration form at http://igis.ucanr.edu/dronecamp. Registration fees are due by June 1, 2019.

2021-05-12T11:05:03-07:00May 21st, 2019|

When it Comes to Drones, No Limit with Aerobotics

Aerobotics Drones Detects Disease Early in Orchards

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

Drones are continuing to make a big appearance in the agriculture industry, and with new technology from Aerobotics, they’re not leaving the sky any time soon. James Paterson, co-founder and CEO of Aerobotics, has news of a fully automatic solution for collecting aerial data fields to help maintain healthier trees.

“It’s to detect disease problems in the orchard, and the reason that’s such a difficult problem is that it’s done as a manual process at the moment, called scouting,” Paterson said.

Although scouting has always been a go-to method, it only guarantees certain points of the field to be checked. Paterson said that the new Aerobotics system will allow the entire farm to be monitored down to each individual tree.

“So what our system does is it tracks each tree, and if it identifies that a tree is under stress, it sends a scouting route to the user’s smartphone for them to go and investigate,” Paterson explained.

Aerobotics has a network of accessible drones available for those farmers who do not have their own. All they need is the software system, and to visit aerobotics.com to get started.

2021-05-12T11:05:04-07:00March 27th, 2019|

Nomad Technology Consulting: Digital Technology For Ag

There are Ag Tech Providers Around the World

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Looking beyond borders is helping find technology for agriculture, according to Adrian Percy, formerly with Bayer Crop Science and now the owner of Nomad Technology Consulting. And he is excited to bring new solutions to agriculture.

“One of the things that were apparent to me working at Bayer is that there was so much beyond our borders, a lot of exciting ag tech out of there, a lot of passionate entrepreneurs trying to make a difference and bring new solutions to agriculture,” Percy said. “However, when I left Bayer a few months ago, I dived in and began working with many new technology providers across the globe who are looking to bring new solutions to various areas of ag tech. I desire to help and advise them.”

AgTech Experts At Recent AgTechx Event at Bayer Crop Science’s West Sacramento Research Facility, sponsored by Western Growers Association.

Digitalization is clearly going to be one of those new areas in agriculture, and basically, it’s going to help ag in many ways.

“I think our growers make more informed decisions about how to manage their crop, and so whatever type of crop that will be, whether it comes to time for harvesting and other areas, I think this is all going to be enabled by digital tools,” Percy explained.

The use of drones and high-resolution cameras will be aiding in combating pests.

“Do you take the use of drones with high-resolution visualization cameras? There are companies now that can detect insects that are less than half a millimeter,” Percy said.

“You may be able to detect the arrival of early disease pressure in a field or early insect infestations and perhaps send out another drone to zap those critters and protect fields with minimum use of crop protection chemistry,” Percy continued.

Building trust will help data sharing at some level.

“They may have to share their data to trust in that process, and a lot of companies are working on how they can build that trust with growers,” Percy explained.

Percy said the need to farm sustainably would help farms in the future.

“I think the fundamentals have always been strong. I know we go through periods of difficulty with low margins and commodity prices, for example, which are not strong right now, but the need for the future and the need for sustainable farming is always going to be there.”

2021-05-12T11:05:05-07:00March 25th, 2019|

Bowles Farming Co. Shares Success Secrets

Google Hangouts Helps Bowles Farming Communicate Throughout 

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

When it comes to agriculture, Merced County-based Bowles Farming Company has it figured out. With 160 years of experience, and six generations worth of history, the company has had a major influence on the state. Danny Royer, Vice President of Technology at Bowles, has valuable insight on what makes the company so successful.

Royer is in charge of the technology behind growing various crops including tomatoes, cotton, wheat, watermelon, and other organic commodities. He said that the key to solving issues is by sharing data within the operation.

“Data is what’s going to provide the solution, but we have to create systems that give the people [the data] who have the competencies to solve the problem,” he explained.

One way Bowles Farming Co. is able to achieve this is by using Google Hangouts on the farm, which enables them to communicate with different sectors of the operation single-handedly.

“We’ve got to be a little more transparent and open about sharing our information with people that are coming from the tech sector trying to help us,” Royer said.

2021-05-12T11:05:08-07:00November 5th, 2018|

Innovation is Bowles Farming Co.’s #1 Objective

Bowles Farming is Major Innovator in Merced County

By Mikenzi Meyers, Associate Editor

As every industry continues to be pressured by increasing technologies and the expectation to innovate, it is without question that agriculture is no different. With 160 years of experience growing various crops, Bowles Farming Co. in Merced County is not only a leader within the industry but strives to stand on the forefront of innovation.

Danny Royer, Vice President of Technology at Bowles, gave insight to California Ag Today recently as to how his company is using technology to make irrigation more efficient.

“There’s a lot that goes into the irrigation before it even gets to the farm,” he explained. “Our canal company that delivers our water is working on automating their system to meet our automation needs.”

Royer is utilizing water control and data gathering technology through innovative companies such as WaterBit and WiseConn to better regulate how Bowles Farming Co. resources are used.

He is in charge of the technology behind growing various crops, including tomatoes, cotton, wheat, watermelon, and other organic commodities. He said that the key to solving issues is by sharing data within the operation.

“Data is what’s going to provide the solution, but we have to create systems that give the people [the data] who have the competencies to solve the problem,” he explained.

One way Bowles Farming Co. is able to achieve this is by using Google Hangouts on the farm, which enables them to communicate with different sectors of the operation single-handedly.

“We’ve got to be a little more transparent and open about sharing our information with people that are coming from the tech sector trying to help us.”

Royer concluded, “the most important thing when we talk about tech and ag is talking about the impact on the operation … people’s jobs are going to change, how people function is going to change, and if you rule tech out, it’s going to be resisted.”

2021-05-12T11:05:09-07:00October 15th, 2018|
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