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EFITA


Châtenay-Malabry (FR - 92290), 28 April 2014


EFITA newsletter / 645 - European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


ICT's for future Economic and Sustainable Agricultural Systems - 9th Conference of the Asian Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture - 2014
29 Sep - 2 Oct 2014 – PERTH (Australia)
The Australian Society of ICT in Agriculture cordially invites you to participate in the 9th AFITA conference. The conference is organized by ASICTA, ECU and CSBP and will be held at Edith Cowan University, Perth.

The conference is supported by Edith Cowan University and AFITA.

Over the last few decades, several research and development efforts have been made to exploit the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve the efficiency of production in agriculture and to achieve sustainable development. Precision Agriculture involves identification, analyses and management of spatial and temporal variability in soils and crops for profitability, sustainability and protection of the environment. Precision Agriculture employs emerging technologies such as ICT; geospatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Remote Sensing (RS); Sensor Technologies and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN).

This conference will examine the role that ICT can play in agricultural economic and environmental sustainability. The aim of the conference is to show case how advances in ICT is leading to exciting developments in the delivery of knowledge to growers, researchers and agriculture industry in general. The agricultural sector is an important sector in the world economy and its sustainability is vital with increasing population growth and global environmental change. ICT has played a vital role in the push to deliver services to this industry and rural entrepreneurs. All participants (academicians, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and observers) will be challenged and invited to contribute, share, and disseminate their ideas, products, solutions, good practices or policies relevant to the topic and critical issues addressed in this international conference.

The conference deliberately includes practical aspects and hands-on experiences by incorporating demonstrations of ICT applications in the field. Practical outcomes of ICT applications and its benefits to the agricultural sector are an important part of this conference.
See: http://www.asicta.org/AFITA2014/

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New tool ID's weeds
A new smartphone app developed by the publishers of Farm Industry News aims to help you spot trouble early for best treatment.
Voir : http://farmindustrynews.com/blog/new-tool-ids-weeds


Online training programs with short modules focused on Precision Farming implementation in Venezuela
See: http://www.geoagro.com/content/programa-de-capacitacion-%E2%80%93-proyecto-saet


Examples of Precision Farming experiences
See: http://www.youblisher.com/p/233200-AP-Conviene/


Transform digital dirt into real yield
See: http://www.optmzr.co/


RoboFlight acquires Aerial Precision Ag
Aerial Precision Ag (APA), a manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Systems for use in agriculture, has announced that it has been acquired by RoboFlight Systems Inc. RoboFlight is a geo-referenced aerial data company that processes, analyzes, and manages multi-spectral aerial imagery data.
See: http://farmindustrynews.com/roboflight-acquires-aerial-precision-ag


Innovation is "best way out of economic crisis", argues Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn
See: http://www.vieuws.eu/eu-institutions/innovation-is-best-way-out-of-economic-crisis-argues-commissioner-maire-geoghegan-quinn/

Smart AgriMatics 2014


Contribute to Smart AgriMatics 2014 - session on Interoperability and standards for data exchange in agri-food business
18 – 19 June - PARIS
This interactive workshop will focus on the current state of play on standardization, implementation and adoption of standards for the exchange of information between stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain.

The workshop will be divided into two parts:

1. Introduction of standardization and adoption of standards on the current landscape, this is being collected by the ICT-AGRI ERANET (http://www.ict-agri.eu).

2. Workshop contributors are requested to add to the challenges and actions to be taken in order to improve the adoption of standards or the development of new standards in the agri-food chain.

Special focus is on the processes and data exchange between the Farm Management Information System (FMIS) at the farmer’s side and information systems of other stakeholders in the supply chain. The session is targeting to all agri-food stakeholders along the supply chain; from farmer to retailer and ICT system/software/service providers.

Experts are invited to contribute to this workshop. Contributions cover at least one of the following topics:

- Motivation and state of the art in the adoption of ICT standards to support data exchange between information systems of agri-food stakeholders.

- Potential actions and motivation for further development and adoption of existing or new ICT standards for data exchange in the agri-food chain.

- Specific standards and the current adoption for data exchange between the FMIS and information systems at other stakeholders in the supply chain.

If you want to contribute, then send a half page description of the usage and adoption of ICT standards in the agri-food chain to info@smartagrimatics.eu with the subject “Contribution to session 4.2 on Interoperability for Data Exchange” before the 15th of April, or contact one of the organizers directly.
See: http://www.smartagrimatics.eu/Conference-Information/Programme#Information&DataExchange

The electronic Rothamsted Archive: Long-term data for modern-day agroecological research
The electronic Rothamsted Archive (e-RA) is part of the Long-Term Experiments National Capability (LTE-NC) at Rothamsted Research. It is a unique internet resource providing access to data from Rothamsted’s Long-Term Experiments, the oldest continuous agronomic experiments in the world. Between 1843 and 1856, Sir John Bennet Lawes and Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert established several field experiments on Lawes’s Rothamsted estate in Harpenden, South-East England. Some of these experiments continue today, more or less as originally planned, and re now known as the ‘Classical Experiments’. e-RA brings data from these experiments together with associated meteorological records and accompanying documentation, much of it originally in paper format, into a password-protected database which users can query. The e-RA database provides easy access to experimental data and specialist background information on the effects of agricultural practices on crops, soils and associated ecosystems to scientists around the world.

The current version of e-RA holds records of crop yields and other data (including weeds, disease, species composition and soil plus experimental information on cropping and treatments) for four Classical Experiments: The Broadbalk Wheat experiment (since 1843), the Park Grass Continuous Hay experiment (since 1856), Hoosfield Spring Barley (since 1852) and the Alternate Wheat and Fallow experiment (since 1856). The data is continually being added to and in future will hold other information such as crop nutrient content. The long-term data is not confined to the field experiments; meteorological data from Rothamsted (Hertfordshire), Brooms Barn (Suffolk) and Woburn (Bedfordshire) are also available. Rothamsted’s meteorological data is one of the longest running datasets in the world with rainfall from 1853 and temperature from 1878. A comprehensive searchable bibliography relating to the long-term experiments is also available.

To make access to commonly-requested datasets as simple as possible, a selection of pre-prepared records are feely available as ‘Open Access Data’ and can be downloaded from the e-RA website together with useful graphs and charts. These datasets include the mean long-term winter wheat yields from selected treatments on Broadbalk, referred to in numerous publications, Park Grass Species Diversity, and changes in Soil Organic Carbon in selected treatments from the Broadbalk Wheat and Hoosfield Barely experiments. Future plans include the provision of additional subsets of weather data, specifically for schools and universities, and the inclusion of other commonly requested datasets for the Classical experiments.

In addition to the experiments, the associated ‘Rothamsted Sample Archive’ holds about 300,000 air-dried soil and plant samples that have been collected since the experiments began. The experiments, sample archive and the e-RA database have been of value to many scientific disciplines. These include soils and climate modelling, biodiversity and agro-ecology, crop nutrition and production, plant pathology and physiology. Some examples include:

- The determination of crop responses to nitrogen and other nutrients, the effects of temperature and the wider aspects weather and climate on yields, and the development of fertiliser recommendations.
- The meteorological data have been used as the driver for many crop and ecosystem models, and is invaluable in understanding and forecasting crop diseases.
- The development and calibration of mathematical models such as the Roth-C model of the carbon cycle, used by more than 1400 scientists in 94 countries.
- Environmental and biological trends, such as the effects of invasive species and changes in biodiversity.
- Temporal changes in species of pathogens affecting wheat.

To date e-RA users include scientists from global research institutes such as the World Vegetable Research Centre in Taiwan, CSIRO Australia, Plant and Food Research, New Zealand, universities in the USA (including Cornell, Ohio State, Yale, Michigan and Kansas State), European Research Centres such as Aarhus University, Denmark and in the UK the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology (CEH), John Innes and James Hutton Research Centres and universities (including Imperial, Exeter, Aberdeen, Reading, Oxford, UEA, Brunel, Swansea and Lancaster) and companies such as Affinity Water. In addition to research, data is made available to universities and schools for teaching purposes.

Field experiments and meteorological records started in the mid-19th century continue to provide new information and knowledge for agriculture and ecology today.

See: http://www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk/
For further information on obtaining the data, contact the e-RA curators, Dr Margaret Glendining and Dr Sarah Perryman using email: res.era(a)rothamsted.ac.uk.


President Obama Endorses Ag Biotech
In an April 11 letter to Julie Borlaug, President Obama wrote about how pleased he was to join in the celebration of her grandfather, Norman Borlaug, and his life and passion for feeding the hungry through biotechnology. Through ag biotech, Norman Borlaug, known as the “Father of the Green Revolution,” made it his life’s work to eradicate world hunger and was recently recognized posthumously for his contributions to the field. Sara Wyant of Agri-Pulse highlighted President’s Obama’s remarks to Julie Borlaug:

 “I share his belief that investment in enhanced biotechnology is an essential component of the solution to some of our planet’s most pressing agricultural problems,” Obama wrote. “Through our new regional climate change hubs, we will use the sorts of technologies pioneered by your grandfather to help farmers and ranchers face the climate challenges ahead.”

Borlaug’s granddaughter Julie, who now serves as assistant director for external relations at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, is clearly delighted with the letter, wrote Wyant.
“This is a huge endorsement of the importance of agriculture research and biotechnology,” she told Agri-Pulse. “My grandfather would have been grateful and appreciative of the President’s focus on agriculture and climate change in an effort to feed the 9 billion people expected to live on this planet by 2050.”

Obama supporters say that a stronger White House message on biotechnology has been quietly building in recent years and the letter to Julie Borlaug represents a culmination of several different events.
See: http://www.biotech-now.org/food-and-agriculture/2014/04/president-obama-endorses-ag-biotech#


EFITA 2013
24-27 June 2013 - TURIN


EFITA 2013: Sustainable Agriculture through ICT innovation

> Scientific program
See: http://www.efita2013.org/
web/documentos/programa_efita13.pdf

> Poster session
See:
http://www.efita2013.org/
web/documentos/posterlist.pdf

> The acts of the EFITA2013 congress
See:
http://www.informatique-agricole.org/Efita_2013/final%20pdf%20EFITA/EFITAFullpapers.pdf


See: http://www.efita2013.org

Contact: Prof. Remigio BERRUTO
E-mail: remigio.berruto(a)unito.it

And now it's time for the April poor taste award...! Anyway, it's time we gave the stupid Irish a break and picked on other stereotypes. Cheers. Mick

Green Fingers

Boy asks his Dad: "Why do they say gardeners have got green fingers when their fingers ain't green?"

Dad replies: "Its just a saying, son... It's like when somebody is caught stealing something they say they have been caught 'red handed' - even though their hands are actually black.

Told by Mick HARKIN
E-mail: harkin(a)iol.ie



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See: http://www.informatique-agricole.org/gazette/efita/efita_140428_645.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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