Brown Land And Farm Management | Professional Land And Farm Management Services

23Nov

Crop Tech Corner: Eyeing Crop Growth From Space

November 20, 2015

By Emily Unglesbee DTN Staff Reporter

ST. LOUIS (DTN) -- This bi-monthly column condenses the latest news in the field of crop technology, research and products.

SKY-HIGH YIELD ESTIMATES

Scientists from Stanford University are going all the way to space to estimate crop yields. According to a university media release, a team of researchers has figured out how to use the light emitted from growing plants to measure their rate of growth. As plants absorb sunlight, they release a tiny bit of solar energy back into the atmosphere in the form of fluorescent light. This light varies as the plant grows, explained Stanford scientist and co-author of the study, David Lobell. "This glow that plants have seems to be...

Ag Explosion In Drone Use

Ag Explosion in Drone Use: Researchers Talk About Ways They Use UASs as Costs Come Down Chris Clayton DTN Ag Policy Editor MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (DTN) -- Yong-Lak Park, an entomologist at the University of West Virginia, actually bombs invasive weeds by dropping weevils from a drone. Unmanned aerial systems have numerous applications in agriculture, according to university researchers. (DTN/The Progressive Farmer file photo by Jim Patrico) Park was one of several university researchers who showed how they are using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) with practical field applications at the annual meeting of agricultural science societies held this week in Minneapolis. "What you see on the ground from agriculture may be totally different from what you can see from the sky," Park explained. Researchers showed in presentations where they have gotten down to...

EPA Bans Sulfoxaflor

November 18, 2015

By Emily Unglesbee DTN Staff Reporter

ST. LOUIS (DTN) -- On Nov. 12, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final cancellation order on sulfoxaflor, the active ingredient in several insecticides produced by Dow AgroSciences, including Transform WG.

Growers may use up any products they own containing sulfoxaflor (see the list here: http://1.usa.gov/…), but the products may no longer be sold or distributed by Dow or anyone else.

The EPA's ban was prompted by a ruling from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in September, which stated that the agency's original registration of sulfoxaflor in 2013 was "based on flawed and limited data" and demanded that agency "obtain further studies and data regarding the effects of sulfoxaflor...

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