February 23, 2012

Aqua Check Takes Soil Moisture Testing into the Digital Age

aquacheck pro ii

Variable rate technology has huge implications for the efficiency and productivity on the farm. Data collection and monitoring are key components in the application of that technology. Knowing the composition of your fields, the structure of your fields as what went into those fields is the information that makes VRT technology benefit your farm by [...]

My Trip to InfoAg a Precision Ag Conference in Springfield, Illinois

  By Ken Coles, FarmingSmarter.com In July I attended the Precision Ag Conference in Springfield, Illinois. I though in my first blog post I would cover my thoughts and observations at the conference. Day 1 Last week Brent Nicol and I attended the infoag, precision ag conference in Springfield, Illinois. (www.infoag.org). Not being a seasoned [...]

Water, Agriculture & the Environment – Brent Paterson

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This year it seems like water is really making it’s power known. From devastating us with floods and tsunamis, to crippling us by its absence in drought. As our population continues to grow, our management of that all important resource becomes essential. How we harness it, develop it store it and share it all have [...]

The Future of Water Management in Alberta with Roger Holm

As kids we used to laugh about people who bought bottled water. Who would pay for water! How about every nation on the planet. We need water on just about every level imaginable. It is a commodity that affects all other commodities. Droughts hurt crops, poor crops hurt supplies, demand for those supplies, in the [...]

AgExpo2011 – The Opportunity of Variable Rate Irrigation

Precision agriculture has become a much more popular production management on many farms in Canada.  One of the newer precision technologies in the marketplace is precision irrigation.  The idea is very similar to other variable rate technologies which allow for the prescription applications of inputs.  In this case its about applying water to your crop [...]

Monsanto’s Application For Drought Tolerant Gene Provides Pull Type Trait Development

There has been a lot of confusion amongst some people regarding Monsanto‘s application for GM drought tolerant corn for feed and food use in Canada and the United States. The application has been made and could be ready if approved fro commercialization in 2012 or 2013. This gene will provide farmers with the ability to [...]

My Chile Trip: A Closer Look at Chile Irrigation Systems

http://youtube.com/watch?v=roWOtDHpP7M&hl After visiting different fields across Chile, I really came to appreciate the differences in irrigation methods.  On the larger fields, pivots are becoming more common but there is still many stationary guns and even flood irrigation.  Most irrigation water is transported by dirt ditch while cement ditch infrastructure is underway.  Chilean farmers are able to grow [...]