Producers and others will have an opportunity to learn about the latest trends in precision agriculture from local and national experts at the Precision Ag Summit set for Jan. 16-17, 2017, at the North Dakota Farmers Union Conference Center in Jamestown.

Participants also will see demonstrations of new agricultural tools designed to lower production costs and create a more efficient environment for farm production.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service, North Dakota Farmers Union, Red River Valley Research Corridor and Dakota Precision Ag Center are coordinating the summit.

“The Precision Ag Summit will have leading agricultural experts present on the state of precision agriculture for crop production, current trends, technology applications and opportunities for successful implementation,” says John Nowatzki, NDSU Extension ag machine systems specialist and one of the event’s organizers.

The schedule on Jan. 16 includes:

  • Keynote speaker Raj Khosla, professor of precision agriculture at Colorado State University, who will discuss digital agronomy and data analytics for precision crop management
  • Terry Griffin, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, who will speak on the profitability of precision agriculture technologies
  • David Schimmelpfennig, U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, who will speak about the cost savings of using precision agriculture technologies

In the afternoon, concurrent sessions will be held on various topics, including variable-rate irrigation, the impacts of tile drainage on water quality, unmanned aircraft systems applications for crop management, and precision agriculture equipment options.

Speakers and their topics on Jan. 17 include:

  • Mark Jeschke, Pioneer agronomy research manager, and Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension agronomist - strategies for multihybrid planting
  • Griffin and Nicholas Morrow, Agrian Inc. product manager - issues of concern to farmers, including data ownership, privacy and water quality
  • Evan Sieling, CHS regional YieldPoint specialist, and Jeremy Bittner, Climate Corp. climate business manager - precision scouting, data capture and crop yield analysis

Also, Wade Bott, USDA state soil scientist, will demonstrate the USDA’s Web Soil Survey for land management decisions.

Registration rates are: full summit, $100; Jan. 16 or Jan. 17 only, $60; students, $50. Prices include breakfast and lunch.

Advance registration is available online at http://www.theresearchcorridor.com/precisionagsummit2017. On-site registrations also are welcome throughout the event.

For more information, contact Nowatzki at 701-231-8213 or john.nowatzki@ndsu.edu.