The start of a new year always brings us the CES 2023 technology show in Las Vegas, and there we have become accustomed to John Deere announcing ground-breaking (or could it be ground-saving) farming technology solutions. Readers will be interested to learn of more precision ag technology being developed by the agricultural machinery manufacturer, this time in the shape of ‘ExactShot’ – a new robotic seed planter. The technology will, the firm claims, reduce fertiliser application by up to 60%. Travelling at a speed of 10 miles per hour, ExactShot can sow 30 seeds per second, each of them coated in…
Author: Matt Peskett
Matt Peskett
For over 23 years Matt has worked in digital media with global companies in the science, technology, food and agricultural sectors. With a lifelong passion for growing his own fruit and veg, Matt also exhibits 300kg/700lbs pumpkins and is an RHS Flower Show volunteer. He has a sizeable horticultural social media presence and has been a finalist in the Garden Media Guild's blog of the year and social media awards. Matt is an individual investor in agritech start-ups like Small Robot Company, Breedr and Drone Ag as well as AppHarvest Inc, Agronomics Ltd and Hydrofarm Holdings.
One-third of the global food supply relies on pollination and healthy commercial honeybee hives are essential to secure high crop yields. However, on top of all their other woes, honeybees are plagued by American Foulbrood disease. Overt clinical cases of American Foulbrood are notifiable in the USA and Canada, recently cases have been found in Scotland, UK. With no safe and sustainable solution for disease prevention the only treatment method to date relies on the incineration of bees and infected hives and equipment. Until Now. Dalan Animal Health, Inc. a biotech company pioneering insect health has been granted a two…
EOS SAT, the first agri-focused satellite constellation, began its space roll-out this week with EOS SAT-1 successfully placed into a low Earth orbit. Delivered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, this first imaging satellite will make up one of seven small optical satellites in the total constellation. Together the group of satellites will assist agribusinesses in monitoring crop growth and detecting heat, cold, water stress, weed spread, pest attacks, and other issues threatening crops. Users of EOS SAT will be able to: Optimise their input use based on productivity and vegetation maps Test the effectiveness of new crop protection products or…
Lindsay Corporation‘s FieldNET® platform will be populated with high-resolution images from Ceres Imaging following a strategic partnership between the two technology firms. In a reciprocal arrangement, in-depth analytics and recommendations, powered by FieldNET data, will also be accessible within the Ceres Imaging platform. FieldNET enhances growers’ ability to remotely monitor, control, analyse and apply irrigation recommendations. The addition of Ceres’ imagery and access to its analytics platform will allow growers to monitor and adjust operations based on key indicators of crop performance such as emergence, canopy density, soil composition, water stress and nitrogen content. These indicators will provide valuable insights…
Global dairy farming technology specialist DeLaval has launched a new version of its OptiDuo™ feed pushing robot, claiming the new model can add up to three litres of milk per cow per day. Data from over 1500 OptiDuos has been collated to demonstrate the time and labour savings made by users. It also shows multiple improvements in animal health. “Constantly refreshing feed encourages cows to eat more, which results in a more stable rumen and more milk. OptiDuo will run up to 10 times a day and customers tell us, that on every occasion, they see the cows return to…
US agritech company – Sound Agriculture – has today announced a US$75 million Series D equity investment. The new funding will be used to expand the firm’s existing Nutrient Efficiency and On-Demand Breeding business lines. Since its founding in 2013, the company has raised a total of US$155 million to develop nature-based solutions for sustainable food production, replacing up to 30% of climate damaging synthetic fertiliser and breeding tastier, healthier and more sustainable crops. Reducing dependence on synthetic fertilisers – SOURCE Described by the company as ‘like caffeine for microbes’, Sound’s flagship ‘Nutrient Efficiency’ product – SOURCE – is applied…
BioConsortia, Inc. develops microbial products that protect plants, boost fertility, and increase yields. This week the US firm has announced its 2022 field trial results for its nematicide seed treatment products. These bring two new nematicide leads into the development pipeline, bringing the number of products in mid-to-late-stage development as nematicides applied as seed treatments to five. Selecting single-strain, spore-forming beneficial bacteria The five product leads ready for partnering from the BioConsortia nematicide pipeline are each based on single-strain, spore-forming beneficial bacteria. They were originally identified and optimised using the company’s patented Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) process, which is used…
California-based robotic farming company – Verdant Robotics – has this week announced the closure of a US$46.5 million Series A funding round. The investment injection will be used to scale the firm’s advanced robotic technology and accelerate broad adoption of its regenerative and precision ag solutions. Verdant’s multi-action, autonomous platform is the only ag robot in the U.S. market that can simultaneously weed, fertilise, and treat plants for pests and diseases – all while collecting data on each plant allowing farmers to make decisions in real time. Its Robotics-As-A-Service (RaaS) is already in use across a wide variety of specialty…
John Deere has been named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Best of Innovation honouree in the Robotics category, and an honouree in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category for its fully autonomous tractor. This is the fourth consecutive year John Deere has received an Innovation Award from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The announcement was made ahead of CES 2023, the world’s most influential technology event, during which John Deere will deliver a keynote. CES 2023 takes place January 5-8 in Las Vegas, NV and digitally. John Deere’s fully autonomous tractor integrates technology such as cameras, artificial intelligence (AI),…
Bosch, BASF Digital Farming, Amazone, and the University of Hohenheim have joined forces on a project which will conduct research into the use of high-performance sensors for smart herbicide application as a means of effective, agronomic weed control. The ‘HoPla project’ aims to investigate how optical technologies and artificial intelligence can assist with the targeted application of herbicides in the field. Improving optical sensor systems and processors Targeted application of herbicides through smart spraying at a ‘per plant’ level requires accurate smart cameras and supporting software technology to control application. As part of their ‘HoPla’ collaborative project, experts from the…
