James Szabo, who has travelled the world investigating technological advances in agriculture as part of a year-long Nuffield Scholarship, will make his predictions for the future at the Norfolk Farming Conference on February 20. Delegates at the John Innes Conference Centre, in Norwich, will be told how different types of robots are likely to play a key role on farms, improving crop yields and saving labour.

Some big investors are looking at Ag’s new opportunities to be had. Just a few months ago, Monsanto bought Climate Corp for a whopping $930 million. More recently, Horizons Ventures, the investment firm of the big-hitting Chinese investor Li Ka Shing, invested in Kaiima, an Israeli biotech company that raised $65 million from investors. There’s lots of room to grow, and therefore, lots to learn.

Topcon Precision Agriculture has named Aaron Shultz regional sales manager for the southern region of the United States.

SST Software, an industry leader in precision agriculture, will soon offer remote sensing services to growers and ag service providers in partnership with GeoVantage, a global provider of multispectral imagery.

Field Intelligence, a Quake Global distribution partner, is offering a range of machine-to-machine (M2M) data communication solutions for the agricultural market, built around QUAKE’s advanced and versatile Q4000 remote asset tracking and monitoring device.

When Gregg Carlson served in the U.S. Rangers in the early 1970s, he used the first-generation GPS system. Carlson was so impressed with the technology that he’s spent much of his post-military career educating farmers about the benefits of GPS and other precision ag tools.

Clark State Community College wants to create a precision agricultural program that could help bring thousands of new jobs related to farming and the unmanned aerial systems industry to Ohio.

Helping farmers get more value per acre through the expert analysis of production data is the goal of a collaboration announced between Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and John Deere. The companies announced today that they will work together to develop approaches and technology that will deliver data and provide information to farmers that will assist in the execution of site-specific applications to improve yields and manage costs. Specifically, Dow AgroSciences has signed on to leverage the MyJohnDeere platform and new cloud-based technologies for future delivery of customized prescriptions tailored to the grower’s environments.

The X14 is Topcon’s newest precision farming in-cab display and offers entry-level guidance with the look and feel of TPA’s larger, easy-to-use X30 touchscreen console.