A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

The use of drones in agriculture is gaining ground as more farmers become interested in the cost and time-saving potential of aerial applications. While the U.S. already has comprehensive regulations for drone-based agricultural chemical spraying, enforced by both federal and state agencies, emerging guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aim to refine that oversight. Additionally, the widest-used drone brand, ...
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I built this platform of mine (some 20 years ago) with the idea of spreading positive thoughts. I was tired of all the doom and gloom in the media and people always looking to tear everyone down rather than helping to be a positive light and build people up. With this in mind, I've tried my best to help promote ...
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The population in rural America, aka “nonmetro” areas, continues to make gains, reversing a decade-long period of decline in the 2010s. According to a new analysis from the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the number of people living in nonmetro counties increased by +134,540 (+0.29%) between 2023 and 2024. The recent growth stems entirely from migration, which has offset a population ...
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Silicon Valley-based drone company “SiFly” emerged from stealth earlier this year with impressive claims about its capabilities. Compared to popular models from China drone maker “DJI,” SiFly claims its drones offer up to four times the flight endurance and ten times the operational range, enabling operations that require persistent coverage or long-distance travel without battery swaps or dock networks, which ...
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The rapid rise of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy is triggering seismic shifts across the food and agriculture sectors, upending decades of consumption patterns and forcing producers to rethink everything from crop selection to product formulation. These appetite-suppressing drugs, originally developed for diabetes management, are now used by millions for weight loss, and their biological impact on eating habits ...
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Researchers at the University of Kansas have introduced a new, web-based app that provides free satellite monitoring and analysis of vegetation and crop health. The innovative tool, called “Sentinel GreenReport Plus,” provides real-time data not only in Kansas but across the entire nation.The Sentinel GreenReport Plus integrates Google Earth Engine with imagery from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, ...
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Agtech startup “TerraBlaster” has developed a system that utilizes lasers to perform one of farmers’ least favorite tasks - soil sampling. The core technology uses “Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy” (LIBS), a method originally developed for NASA’s Mars missions to “blast” soil with laser pulses. By breaking molecules into ions and detecting their spectral “fingerprints,” the system can test soil nutrients in ...
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As summer takes hold, the atmosphere is revealing its hand, and once again, the Lezak Recurring Cycle is proving that weather is not random chaos, but a well-organized pattern we can decipher. Today, we’ll walk you through how the evolving summer pattern fits into the larger cycling pattern and what it means for your region and your industry in the ...
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The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has released its first-ever State of the World's Animal Health report, which assesses disease trends and the use of vaccines and antibiotics in animals. Not surprisingly, the report highlights the devastating impacts of avian influenza and the increasing number of outbreaks among mammals. High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), aka bird flu, was one ...
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John Deere recently acquired Minnesota-based “Sentera,” an aerial imaging company specializing in precision agriculture. Deere plans to integrate Sentera’s technology into its existing digital platform, the John Deere Operations Center. Sentera’s field-scouting platform allows farmers to gather high-resolution, multispectral images with its drone-mounted cameras. The data is then processed with Sentera’s “FieldAgent,” which uses AI and machine learning to help ...
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