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EFITA


Châtenay-Malabry (FR - 92290), 5 January 2015


EFITA newsletter / 677 - European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment

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To correspond with me (GW), please use this address: guy.waksman(a)laposte.net


FOODIE, the EC project for a “Farm oriented open data platform” comes into the second year and will start in Q2/3 with the implementation of pilot activities
FOODIE infrastructure and objectives will be realized by means of the resulting service platform hub, which will be demonstrated in three different pilot scenarios across Europe:
>>> Pilot 1: Precision viticulture - Bodegas Terras Gauda, Spain
Precision Viticulture (PV) is a key concept on the wine-growing sector. The main purposes of PV are the appropriate management of the inherent variability of crops, an increase in economic benefits and a reduction of environmental impact. Variable-rate application (VRA) of inputs and selective harvesting at parcel level are productive strategies which provide significant benefits for farmers in general....

This pilot will take place in Spain, in the region of Galicia, province of Pontevedra, in Bodegas Terras Gauda. The fundamental tasks to perform are:
1) Initial zoning of the parcels, based on known geo-climatic and topographical information, with the aim of identifying areas with similar productive potential and evaluating the opportunity for their similar management.

2) Selection, installation and management of sensors and monitors, VRA equipment and machinery. FOODIE will provide tools for GIS and data analysis and will be complemented with other technologies as GPS and DGPS, crop sensors and monitors, local and remote sensors, VRA equipment and machinery.

3) Quantification and evaluation of within-field variability through:

a. Plant Vigour Maps obtained by Hyperspectral Sensor Flights.
b. Measurement of Soil variability by Electromagnetic Mapping.
c. Open Data available and relevant for the project.

The analysis will integrate, in addition to local gathered data, available data from different sources as:

- Land satellite images
- Environment and biodiversity
- Agro-food statistical indicators
- Measures of final grape production and wine quality, depending on the initial zoning
- Zoning review in accordance with the results for a new zoning of the parcels to refine the model.
- Vineyard exploitation using novel productive strategies.


>>>Pilot 2: Open data for strategic and tactical planning - Czech Republic
The Czech pilot is focused on improving management of farms, introducing new tools and management methods, entailing the cost optimization path, reduction of environmental burden, improving the energy balance while maintaining production level. This tools and methods will be integrated with current Prefarm (modifying system according additional needs and adding new functionality beyond precision farming). This requires a complex optimization of production. So the goal of project is twofold:
- introduce new solution on the farm level,
- build new business for service organisation offering services to the farmers through the cloud and offering them also hardware, necessary for improving farm efficiency

The purpose of the pilot is creating a complex solution for optimizing crop rotation, selection of optimal management methods, reducing energy consumption in the farm crop production and optimizing farms logistics. This optimization will be based primarily on the analysis of farm processes, analysis of existing data, cost intensity of production of specific crops in specific fields and analysis of movement of agricultural machinery and vehicles, which perform, harvesting, processing and supply.

The pilot 2 will use principles of Collaborative Environment. At the moment an open solution that is able to support the collaboration among actors along the whole value added chain of agriculture services is not available.

The pilot will bring following main innovation:

- Improving the data management, collecting, integration, and processing.
- Module for tactical planning of agricultural production (recommending optimal crop for each of the farmer’s field for next season with aim to maximize farmer’s profit and respect various constraints given by farmer’s preferences or objective reasons).
- Calculating the energy and carbon balance and agri-environmental indicators and optimization model of the energy balance designing a methodology and implementing solutions that will calculate the energy and carbon balance.


>>> Pilot 3: Technology allows integration of logistics via service providers and farm management including traceability
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen, Germany
This pilot will covering model that integrates farm management, logistics with mobile communication and precision farming as well as the link to the new FOODIE datasets and sensor data.
Some machine cooperatives will be selected in the Southern part of Germany of the existing 40 cooperatives that work in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. The chosen cooperatives will have up to 1000 farmers as members as well as cooperative offices that manage the cooperative machine. Farmer´s management system will be integrated with a service provider (machine cooperative). The dispatch office transfers the dataset towards a mobile device (smartphone incl. mobile GIS), where a map and an API allow the receiving of the new order and later on the transmitting of the fulfilled order back to the logistic centre and then to the farmer.

"Precise farming maps" will be transferred towards the machines and linked at the dataset to an e.g. fertilizer or pesticide machine with its interface to the map.

Regarding the geographical datasets LPIS (Land Parcel Information System) of the local government is imported as well as all farmers are linked to the logistic system with their own farm management system or a new service is build up for farmers that refused to run an own software. Beside LPIS ortho-images of Microsoft BING from 2011-2012-2013 flights with 30 cm resolution and 1 m vertical precision will be embedded. Further will be a rural area road network built up to be able to link also this road network to a route optimisation module. The necessary interfaces that are produced within FOODIE that allows access to different maps will be embedded. This could allow to link e.g. soil maps, hydrological maps etc.; also an interface towards meteorological or soil moisture sensors will be part of that pilot project.
See: http://www.foodie-project.eu/


Connecting Australians in Agriculture
We believe in better farming, we believe in being better farmers.

We believe that through the sharing of educational, informative and practical information, farmers can become better farmers.

We believe that an agricultural community who shares educational, informative and practical information will build a more sustainable and profitable future for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren & our industry.

We welcome all involved in agriculture to join, it's FREE and your privacy is ensured.
See: http://www.farmz.com.au/


Top mobile apps for agriculture
In recent years, several companies and public institutions have developed Apps for mobile devices with the goal of providing a service to agricultural consultants and producers with educational materials and support tools.

>>> Ag-Apps classifications:
1. ID Apps: For identification purposes (weeds, insects, diseases, and nutrients)
2. CALC Apps: For calculating purposes (nutrient removal calculations, tank mixes, volume to spray, etc.)
3. ECON Apps: For checking grain prices, market evolutions, fertilizer price trends, news and finances.
4. SCOUT Apps: For scouting purposes or for geo-positioning (soil sampling, recording notes, soil types, etc.).
5. GUIDE Apps: For diagnosing crop production issues in the field, primarily related to field guides (crop management: insect, disease, weed, and more).
6. LIVESTOCK Apps: Apps related to the animal side, nutrition, health, and information on markets.
7. MACHINERY Apps: Apps for associated with agricultural equipment preparation, inventory, providing information of the machine.
8. GAG Apps: GAG (general Ag-Apps) for general use, weather-related, for meetings, for reading magazines, among several other Apps’ properties.
9. NON-AG Apps: For general use from e-readers to calculators, email, calendar, picture editing, and more.

See: http://www.dairyherd.com/news/top-mobile-apps-agriculture
See: https://webapp.agron.ksu.edu/agr_social/eupdates/eUpdate122214.pdf


France: Drone Technology Goes Rural in Farming Fly-By (WSJ)
A company in France is experimenting with drone technology to help analyze crops and work out fertilizer ratios from the sky. Mark Kelly reports.
See: http://www.wsj.com/video/drone-technology-goes-rural-in-farming-fly-by/DB3D27AB-99D4-4ABC-AE1C-C9207789FA71.html
See: http://www.airinov.fr/services/drone-agricole/


Weed identification tech for the future
Weed identification apps are just the start of how you can manage an entire weed management program.
See: http://farmindustrynews.com/ag-technology-solution-center/weed-identification-tech-future


10 hottest photo galleries from 2014
Farmers are visual, and that’s one thing that has been proven true through our online viewership over the years. And this year we’ve tackled a wide variety of subjects and turned them into photo galleries to bring you farm news in a visual way. Featured here are the top 10 most popular galleries, based on views. Take a few moments to look through these well-liked images from 2014.
See: http://farmindustrynews.com/farm-equipment/10-hottest-photo-galleries-2014


Big Data and the Science of the Christmas Tree
See: http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2014/12/big-data-and-the-science-of-the-christmas-tree/

Next Afia seminar
7 January 2015

Second Open Data seminar (weather data & pests-diseases data in crop and animal productions)
See: http://www.modelia.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=63

Union of Agricultural Academies of Food and Environment of Europe (U.E.A.A.)
See: http://www.euracadagri.com/eng/


The Royal Agricultural Societyof England
See: http://www.rase.org.uk/


Royal Agricultural Society of NZ
See: http://www.ras.org.nz/


The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV)
See: http://www.rasv.com.au/


The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC)
See:
http://www.therasc.com/


Royal Welsh Agricultural Society: (RWAS)
See: http://www.rwas.co.uk/


Agrar- und Veterinär- Akademie (AVA)
Sehen: http://www.ava1.de/


Agricultural Academy of Greece (A.A.G.)
See: http://www.haa.aua.gr/en/history.aspx


Dryland Farming in Texas
(…) A typical dryland planting schedule might involve a three-year cycle producing two crops.
- Wheat, for instance, could be planted around October 1 of year one and harvested in July of year two.
- The land then remains fallow until June of year three, when sorghum or cotton is planted and harvested in November. Once this is harvested, the land again remains fallow until the following October 1, when the cycle repeats.
- As long as the land remains mulched in fallow periods, it can retain moisture and nutrients.
(…)
See: http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/water/gamechangers/dryland.php


Commodity Darwinism: Demographics, increasing population and wealth all promise to make commodity prices rise once again in future years - survive the downturn, strengthen your positions and stand
See: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2771345-commodity-darwinism-strong-hands-emerge

Séminaires

Modelia / Afia


>>> La modélisation entre recherche et développement agricole, allers et retours... Des modèles scientifiques aux outils logiciels : ambitions, expériences, réflexions, propriété intellectuelle (29 mars 2013)

Voir :
http://www.modelia.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=35


>>> Open Data en Agriculture : état des lieux et perspectives (12 novembre 2013)
Voir : http://www.modelia.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=63

Contact : François BRUN
Mél : francois.brun(a)acta.asso.fr


>>> Les nouveaux capteurs en Agriculture (19 avril 2014)
Voir : http://www.informatique-agricole.org/colloques-afia/afia-colloque/2014_-_capteurs/#wpfb-cat-5
Contact : JP CHANET
Mél : jean-pierre.chanet(a)irstea.fr

The First And True Language Of America
(I’m waiting in line behind a woman speaking on her cell phone in another language. Ahead of her is a white man. After the woman hangs up, he speaks up.)

Man: “I didn’t want to say anything while you were on the phone, but you’re in America now. You need to speak English.”

Woman: "Excuse me?"

Man: *talks slow* "If you want to speak Mexican, go back to Mexico. In America, we speak English."

Woman: "Sir, I was speaking Navajo. If you want to speak English, go back to England."

EFITA 2015
29 June 2015 - 2 July 2015
POZNAN (Poland)


EFITA 2015: Sustainable Agriculture through ICT innovation

Jerzy WERES
E-mail: weres(a)up.poznan.pl

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Contact: Guy WAKSMAN
E-mail: guy.waksman(a)laposte.net


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See: http://www.informatique-agricole.org/gazette/efita/efita_150105_677.htm


The archives of this newsletter

See: http://www.informatique-agricole.org/category/gazette-efita/


Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes... an Anatomy of Wit
Mick Harkin, ex Secretary of EFITA, who has kept us amused with his Friday Jokes over the years, has published a book on Amazon entitled "Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes... an Anatomy of Wit".
See: http://www.jokesquotesandanecdotes.com
Contact: Mick HARKIN
E-mail: harkin(a)iol.ie


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