Our planet’s star is on its way to what’s known as “solar maximum” and scientists think it now could peak by the end of 2023, about a year and a half earlier than previously predicted. Unfortunately, according to experts, our planet may be dangerously underprepared. The Sun’s solar cycle typically lasts anywhere from 9 to …
I always remember my Pop’s saying, “This is the greatest thing since sliced bread”. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but I always thought “sliced bread” had been around forever, dating back some 75,000 years ago when people first started growing and eating grain in western Asia. Wow, was I ever wrong? …
If you spend any amount of time driving through rural America, you are bound to come across what some might consider a strange sight – a random boot placed over a fence post. Sometimes there will be a whole string of them, depending on the reason that particular farm had for putting them there. And …
Posting Boots – The Many Reasons Behind the Long-Time Cowboy Tradition Read More »
Each year I give myself and the others in the office two weeks off per year to spend time with friends and family. One week is between Christmas and New Year, the other is the week of July 4th. With that in mind, the last report we will issue this week will be today, Friday …
Agriculture has long been an early adopter of new technologies – farmers have been driving handsfree with autosteer systems for over 25 years – but for all their conveniences, these advancements have also brought new threats. Food and agriculture companies say one of the biggest is cybersecurity, with numerous hacks carried out across the industry …
Protecting America’s Food Supply From Cyber Threats Read More »
Elite athletes across the country have spent the month of June competing in the Stihl Timbersports qualifier competitions in hopes of securing a spot in the U.S. Championships in late July. Stihl started the lumberjack competition series in 1985 at U.S. logging competitions and it has since grown into a worldwide sporting event. “The Original …
Ammonia, also known as NH3, is a colorless gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. The pungent gas is the basic building block for ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which releases the critical crop nutrient nitrogen. However, the ammonia production process is energy-intensive and relies heavily on fossil fuels. Low-carbon production methods for “green ammonia” are gaining …
More than a decade ago, the Federal Aviation Administration set a goal for US airlines to use 1 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel annually by 2018. The Biden administration upped the target in 2021 to 3 billion gallons per year by 2030. Last year, US production reached just 15.8 million gallons, less than 0.1% …
BioLumic, a New Zealand-based agtech company, has teamed with US seed producer Gro Alliance to scale a novel technology that uses UV light to treat seeds. Biolumic says its treatments can improve yield and quality, as well as make plants “more armour-plated” without needing to be re-bred. Biolumic’s light treatment was first developed for specialty-crop …
It was this week back in 1867 that Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio was issued patented #66,182 for “barbed wire”. Smith’s design called for spools of four short, sharp metal spikes at right angles. The spools would revolve loosely and be set every 2 to 3 feet along the fence wire. Soon thereafter, several …
