Browse Precision Agriculture Stories - Page 5

Georgia farmers have technological advancements at their fingertips but many are not able to use them to their fullest extent due to the lack of broadband internet access, according to Wes Porter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension precision agriculture and irrigation specialist.

It all started with a movie many people haven’t seen. About 10 years ago, Ruqayah Bhuiyan sat down to watch “Sunshine,” a movie about astronauts flying to the sun. Amid all of the high drama, fission bombs and personal conflict aboard the ship, there was a garden.

Whether it’s an argument for slow food or technologically advanced agriculture, most people oversimplify the narratives surrounding the modern food system.

One of the steepest barriers to profitable controlled-environment agriculture is the energy cost associated with providing the plants enough light, but new research being pioneered by University of Georgia could cut those costs by 50 percent.

Time flies, especially when you’re studying a subject you love in the heart of Italy. For University of Georgia graduate student Logan Moore, who has spent the last 18 months conducting research and pursuing his master’s degree in sustainable agriculture, his time at the University of Padova, or Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), has come to an end and his degrees are complete.

From remote moisture sensors that produce a real-time feed of soil conditions to drones that use optical data to spot plant disease, the next green revolution will be fueled by new streams of data.

As part of an irrigation efficiency study by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, a 29-person team of social scientists, agricultural economists, climatologists, agricultural engineers and UGA Extension agents from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is studying agricultural irrigation in order to increase the water-use efficiency in row crops common to southern Georgia.

For decades, farmers who have embraced conservation production have seen increased soil health, reduced irrigation demands and lowered economic risk. For the past 17 years, Georgia farmers interested in adopting new conservation practices for their farms – including those looking to swap best practices with other conservation tillers – have gathered at Georgia’s annual Conservation Production Systems Training Conference.

From the miracle of December tomatoes to the marvel of fresh salad greens in space, greenhouses and growth chambers may play an increasing role in creating hyperlocal or hyperportable food systems.

Weather conditions were warmer and drier than normal across most of the state during November, causing drought and extremely dry conditions to again expand across Georgia.