Precision Farming Dealer editors encounter a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at various aspects of our great agricultural industry. Here is our favorite content from the past week:

Best of the Web This Week is brought to you by Salford Group.

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As global leaders with the widest range of spinner spreaders and air boom applicators in the industry, Salford Group has got you covered. Backed by over 400 application-specific dealers, eight North American parts distribution centers and revered in-field application support, we’re the partners you need to make your business as productive as possible.

Blockchain-Powered AgTech Platform Raises $1 Million

India-based TraceX Technologies, a platform that uses blockchain technology to build transparent supply chains in the food and agriculture ecosystem, has raised $1 million in pre Series A funding. Blockchain and semi-fungible tokens illustrate a potential to move traceability forward, writes ag analyst Shane Thomas in Upstream Ag Insights. “What’s even more interesting is the applicability into green lending and potentially even speed of contract settling at the grain elevator to make it relevant for large-scale North American farming, too,” Thomas says.

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Dealers, Farmers Skeptical About Electric Farm Machinery

One of the technological innovations that the OEMs are betting on is electric farm machinery, particularly electric tractors. But are dealers and farmers convinced that electric machinery can do the job? Not right now, according to survey results from an Ag Equipment Intelligence special report. Dan Crummett, contributing editor at Ag Equipment Intelligence, explains why in this video from Ag Rally 2022. However, OEMs and analysts think electric machinery is coming — and sooner than you’d think — according to the “Electric Farm Machinery: Outlook Through 2027” report. Our crystal ball is a little foggy today, so we'll just have to wait and see. 

Nutrien Tells Farmers to Use Less Fertilizer, Embrace Precision Technology

Nutrien’s interim president Ken Seitz is asking farmers to scale back on their fertilizer usage — an interesting message from the leader of the world’s largest supplier of fertilizer and crop chemicals. Australia’s Farm Online reports Seitz warned that the world’s expanding croplands and fertilizer application are not sustainable. Instead, Seitz says future productivity and sustainability gains must rely on more precise precision agriculture, better soil and crop analytics and digital agronomy strategies.

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“You Guys Always Act Like You’re Better Than Me!”

Nathan Faleide, earth observation and remote sensing expert, says this meme is insanely true in the ag world from the research and agronomy perspective. “I don’t blame people for feeling this either as yield, soil and weather data seem more tangible and real in ag as they usually have a very specific designation or number tied to it,” he writes in his April 18 Earth Observations post. “Imagery does to an extent, too, but it takes a lot more interpretation. That is the real issue.”

Robot of the Week: Harvest CROO, An Autonomous Strawberry Harvester

The autonomous strawberry picker Harvest CROO is almost ready to roll on one of the biggest strawberry farms in the Tampa Bay, Fla., region. Harvest CROO can harvest about 8 acres per day, about what 6 human workers would pick in a day. The owner of Wish Farms says it’s a cost-effective solution to labor shortages. Watch the robot at work in this report from news station 10 Tampa Bay.


 

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Best of the Web This Week is brought to you by Salford Group.

At Salford Group, we have range - in our product lineup and when it comes time to apply. As global leaders with the widest range of spinner spreaders and air boom applicators in the industry, we’ve got you covered. Salford’s BBI and Valmar applicators are proven over millions of acres and range from simple, durable fleet spreaders to precision, variable rate machines engineered for high acreage, custom application. Backed by over 400 application-specific dealers, eight North American parts distribution centers and revered in-field application support, we’re the partners you need to make your business as productive as possible.

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