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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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.

Robot Dog Offers Possible Alternative to Herbicides

Researchers at Texas A&M developed a weed control system that uses a brief burst of heat from a propane-powered blowtorch controlled by a robot dog! There’s the most interesting sentence I’ll write all week. Rather than incinerate the weeds, the robot is designed to identify and heat up the center of the plant, which can stop it from growing for several weeks. “The weeds don’t die. You just suppress their growth so it gives your crop a chance to fight the weed,” says Dezhen Song, who helped develop the system.

How Robots Can Solve Many Problems on the Farm

Speaking of robots, this article from The Guardian asks the question, “Could robot weedkillers replace the need for pesticides?” The article features former California-based tech executive Clint Brauer, who moved back to his family farm in central Kansas after his father developed Parkinson’s disease. Brauer’s Greenfield ag technology company now builds and programs robots in a shed behind an old farmhouse where his grandmother used to live. Twenty farmers are signed up for his robotic services in 2024. “The answer is here,” Brauer says. “This solves a lot of problems for farmers.”

Clint-Brauer--Robot

Greenfield founder Clint Brauer tests one of his fleet of weed-whacking robots in a Kansas sorghum field. Photo by Greenfield

Why Ag Tech Startups Are Trying to ‘Survive Till 2025’

In the latest edition of the Software is Feeding the World newsletter, Rhishi Pethe breaks down why many ag tech startups have struggled to secure funding over the last several months, and why brighter days could be ahead. “CropLife recently said that the VC investment in AgTech for Q2 2024 is 15% higher than Q1 2024, even though the number of deals were the same,” Pethe says. “We are seeing this in the overall VC trends as well, as VC investments have ticked up in Q2 2024. So, are we out of the woods already when it comes to funding or was the last quarter a blip? It is too early to say. Based on most CEOs and VCs I have talked with, folks are cautiously optimistic, but believe the market will be tight for another 12-18 months. Hence the mantra from startup CEOs, ‘Survive till twenty-five (2025)!’”

Venture-Funding-Chart

Photo by Crunchbase

Navigating Potential Legal Issues of AI in Precision Ag

Law firm Kilpatrick provides an in-depth breakdown of the “Innovation in American Agriculture: Leveraging Technology and Artificial Intelligence” Senate Committee hearing and explores what dealers and farmers can do to mitigate any legal risks that come with using AI in precision ag.

Kilpatrick

Deere Speaks Publicly for First Time About Layoffs

U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan goes 1-on-1 with Cory Reed, president of John Deere’s worldwide agriculture & turf division for production and precision ag. After several rounds of cuts to production jobs, Deere has begun reducing its global salaried workforce. Reed attributes the cuts to decreased demand due to lower net farm income, higher interest rates and market volatility.

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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.

Salford Group


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