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Canadian DSS (Decision Support System / crop protection): CIPRA - Computer Centre for Agricultural Pest Forecasting: Crop Guide A number of models for predicting disease progression, pest development and crop growth are described in the literature. However, only a few of the models are in wide use because the others are not very user friendly. The CIPRA system is a tool developed to permit broader use of these models and make them accessible to agricultural stakeholders such as advisors, agronomists, researchers and producers. It is the fruit of collaborative efforts by several institutions working to implement agriculture-related forecasting models for Quebec and Canada with real-time capability. CIPRA is a user friendly software that allows the user to visualize forecasts of insect development or risk of disease and the phenology of certain crops. By using mathematical models with real-time weather data, CIPRA generates graphs permitting rapid estimates of the risk level for certain diseases, insect population development and the growth of given crops. This guide was generated by the CIPRA software and it compiles all the information found in the Help menu. In this way, it is a work in progress and it will be updated with the latest models included in CIPRA on a regular basis. See: http://publicentrale-ext.agr.gc.ca/pub_view-pub_affichage-eng.cfm?&publication_id=12147E AgSolver's manure management plan (MMP) AgSolver's manure management plan (MMP) workflow manager, MMP360, is the most comprehensive tool available for turning your raw data into a completed MMP form. It's the only tool that automates the steps required to complete an Iowa MMP (Iowa DNR Form 542-4000). Developing an Iowa MMP currently takes four to eight hours and requires special training to properly perform the required analyses. MMP360's workflow manager can help you complete an Iowa MMP in 30 minutes or less with no training. MMP360's workflow manager provides a secure account management system that stores data across years to simplify the submission of annual updates and streamline the submission of full plans, which are required every four years. See: https://mmp360.com/ Fourthwing sensors and UAV See: http://fourthwing.com/ Farmers see opportunity in drones See: http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/business/farmers-see-opportunity-in-drones/article_1b21e008-65cb-11e4-ac7d-a3a0ad9cb4f1.html From PROGIS Software GmbH > WinGIS SDK PROGIS took part in Debrecen conference beside a presentation also with a workshop about our SDK Software Development Kit for WinGIS applications incl. BING maps integration. Develop your own application and link it to WinGIS and BING or in other words create your GIS within a few days. Attractive licence policies will help you to be successful in distributing your GIS enabled database-application. Enquiries send to office(a)progis.com under the keyword SDK. > Owners of data During the last weeks an interesting internet discussion forum was initiated by GFAR, the Global Forum for Agricultural Research and Ajit Maru; details see: http://www.egfar.org/news/rights-farmers-data-information-and-knowledge-ciard-e-discussion?source=newsletter Who owns the data of a piece of land that might be a private property. Do we split ownership of land and ownership of information? The main German farm-related organizations have signed recently a memorandum: Farmers have to stay owners of their data! Lots of interesting and for the future important topics to talk about! > GFIA Abu Dhabi 2015 9.-11.March 2015 and “ICT for a sustainable agriculture” PROGIS is organizing in cooperation with the Club of Ossiach and GFAR – The Global Forum for Agricultural Research – the conference and IT pavillion “”ICT for a sustainale agriculture” within the Global Forum for Innovation in Agriculture, Abu Dhabi 9.-11. March 2015; the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture will host 270 leading suppliers and innovators in sustainable agri-food and post harvest losses protection technology in a dedicated exhibition. It is an unprecedented opportunity for you to expand your company’s export potential to some of the world’s most dynamic market places. GFIA 2015 is the only major international exhibition and conference in the world focused exclusively on how technology is employed to produce more food using less resources. - 270 + exhibitors in a world class business-to-business trade fair platform - Among leading partnerships: Clinton Climate Change Initiative; GEF (the world's largest public funder of projects to improve the environment); SAI Platform – facilitating attendance of the world's leading agri-food production businesses - Africa - UAE Government funding for 300 leading buyers, private and public sector - Hosted scientists - UAE Government funding for 400 hosted scientists - World Bank; partners and speakers – Hear from the 'founding father' of Climate Smart Agriculture and the Bank’s climate change envoy - Post Harvest Losses Prevention side conference led by Wageningen UR with supporting technology pavilion - ICT Summit for sustainable agriculture; led by GFAR (a unit of FAO) and Club of Ossiach with supporting technology pavilion - Edible Cities: Building Resilience with Urban Agriculture; led by RUAF Foundation, ICLEI, Association of Vertical Farming, University Arizona - World's largest collection of sustainable agriculture innovations - For full list of GFIA initiatives click here See also the paper (ftp://ftp.progis.com/public/GFIA2015_ICT_in_Agriculture.pdf) to verify if you would like to take part, to do further a presentation, to run a roundtable with your topic, to take part at the workshops about “integration of technologies”, “informing farmers” and “precision farming” and benefit from the inspiring surroundings.To discuss your involvement contact me personally under mayer(a)progis.com 5.) The EC project FOODIE moves further, see the homepage or look at the newsletter http://www.foodie-project.eu/public/20141106012030.pdf that tells about FOODIE in brief, the last progresses and the past events FOODIE participants took part. Contact: Walter H. MAYER E-Mail : mayer(a)progis.com My remark about the next announcement (see hereafter) about Open Repositories (GW) I believe that Open Repositories are a very interesting tool that is neglected by people, medias and organisations invoved in agricultural advisory activities. Universities and research centres may develop OR and enable these OR to be interconnected and accessible but it will not very much help the agrifood industry to progress. It seems to me that advisory organisations together with e.g. agricultural papers should try a national level at least but at international and multilingual level too to develop OR to enable producers to easier retrieve information from different interconnected sources. Tenth International Conference on Open Repositories, OR2015: Looking back, moving forward: open repositories at the crossroads 8 – 11 June 2015 - INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana, USA) > Theme is: Looking back, moving forward: open repositories at the crossroads OR2015 is the tenth OR conference, and this year’s overarching theme reflects that milestone: Looking Back/Moving Forward: Open Repositories at the Crossroads. It is an opportunity to reflect on and to celebrate the transformative changes in repositories, scholarly communication and research data over the last decade. More critically however, it will also help to ensure that open repositories continue to play a key role in supporting, shaping and sharing those changes and an open agenda for research and scholarship. OR2015 will provide an opportunity to explore the demands and roles now expected of both repositories and the staff who develop, support and manage them - and to prepare them for the challenges of the next decade. We welcome proposals on this theme, but also on the theoretical, practical, organizational or administrative topics related to digital repositories. We are particularly interested in: >> Supporting Open Scholarship, Open Science, and Cultural Heritage Online Papers are invited to consider how repositories can best support the needs of open science, open scholarship, and cultural heritage to make research as accessible as possible, including: - Open access, open data and open educational resources - Scholarly workflows, publishing and communicating scientific knowledge - Compliance with funder mandates - Considerations for cultural heritage and digital humanities resources >> Managing Research (and Open) Data Papers are invited to consider how repositories can support the needs of research data. Areas of interest are: - Data registries - Storage - Curation lifecycle management - Management and digital preservation tools >> Integrating with External Systems Papers are invited to explore, evaluate, or demonstrate integration with external systems, including: - CRIS and research management systems - Notification systems (e.g. SHared Access Research Ecosystem (SHARE)) - Remote identifier services (e.g. ORCID, DOI, etc.) - Preservation services - Archival systems (e.g. CALM or Archivists’ Toolkit) >> Re-using Repository Content Papers are invited to showcase how repository content can be re-used in the context of: - Discipline-based repositories and services - Discovery services - Integration of semantic technologies - Repository networks >> Exploring Metrics and Assessment Papers are invited to present experiences on scholarly metrics and assessment services, particularly: - Bibliometrics - Downloads (e.g. COUNTER compliance) - Analytics - Altmetrics >> Managing Rights Papers are invited to examine the role of rights management in the context of open repositories, including: - Research and scholarly communication outputs - Licenses (e.g. Creative Commons, Open Data Commons) - Embargoes - Requirements of funder mandates >> Developing and Training Staff Papers are invited to consider the evolving role of staff who support and manage repositories across libraries, cultural heritage organizations, research offices and computer centres, especially: - New roles and responsibilities - Training needs and opportunities - Career path and recruitment - Community support >> Building the Perfect Repository Papers are invited to look ahead to OR16 and beyond to consider what the perfect repository looks like: - Key features and services - Who would be its users? - How would it transform scholarly communication? - What lessons have been learned since the first OR? - Or, is it a pipe dream and there's no such thing? Submissions that demonstrate original and repository-related work outwith these themes will be considered, but preference will be given to submissions which address them. > Key dates - 30 January 2015: Deadline for submissions and Scholarship Programme applications - 27 March 2015: Submitters notified of acceptance to general conference - 10 April 2015: Submitters notified of acceptance to Interest Groups - 8-11 June 2015: OR2015 conference >> Submission process > Conference Papers and Panels Two to four-page proposals for presentations or panels that deal with digital repositories and repository services (see below for optional Proposal Templates). Abstracts of accepted papers will be made available through the conference's web site, and later they and associated materials will be made available in an open repository. In general, sessions will have three papers; panels may take an entire session. Relevant papers unsuccessful in the main track will automatically be considered for inclusion, as appropriate, as an Interest Group presentation, poster or 24/7. > Interest Group Presentations The opportunity to engage with and learn more about the work of relevant communities of interest is a key element of Open Repositories. One to two page proposals are invited for presentations or panels that focus on the work of such communities, traditionally DSpace, EPrints and Fedora, describing novel experiences or developments in the construction and use of repositories involving issues specific to these technical platforms. Further information about applications for additional Interest Groups and guidance on submissions will be forthcoming. > 24x7 Presentations One to two-page proposals for 7 minute presentations comprising no more than 24 slides. Similar to Pecha Kuchas or Lightning Talks, these 24x7 presentations will be grouped into blocks based on conference themes, with each block followed by a moderated discussion / question and answer session involving the audience and whole block of presenters. This format will provide conference goers with a fast-paced survey of like work across many institutions, and presenters the chance to disseminate their work in more depth and context than a traditional poster. > "Repository RANTS" 24x7 Block One block of 24x7's will revolve around "repository rants": brief exposés that challenge the conventional wisdom or practice, and highlight what the repository community is doing that is misguided, or perhaps just missing altogether. The top proposals will be incorporated into a track meant to provoke unconventional approaches to repository services. > "Repository RAVES" 24x7 Block One block of 24x7's at OR2015 will revolve around "repository raves": brief exposés that celebrate particular practice and processes, and highlight what the repository community is doing that is right. The top proposals will be incorporated into a track meant to celebrate successful approaches to repository services. > Posters One-page proposal for posters that showcase current work are invited from researchers, repository managers, administrators, developers and practitioners. There will be the opportunity to make a 60-second pitch for your poster during “minute madness” and a chance for attendees to view and to discuss your work during the poster reception. > 2015 Developer Track Each year a significant proportion of the delegates at Open Repositories are software developers who work on repository software or related services. OR2015 will feature a Developer Track which will provide a focus for showcasing work, exchanging ideas and participating in "lightning rounds". Further details and guidance on submissions to the Developer Track will be forthcoming. Developers are also encouraged to contribute to the other tracks as papers, posters, 24x7 presentations, repository raves and rants 24x7 blocks. > Workshops and Tutorials One to two-page proposals for workshops and tutorials addressing theoretical or practical issues around digital repositories are welcomed. Please address the following in your proposal: - The subject of the event and what knowledge you intend to convey - Length of session (e.g., 1-hour, 2-hour, half a day or a whole day) - A brief statement on the learning outcomes from the session - How many attendees you plan to accommodate - Technology and facility requirements - Any other supplies or support required - Anything else you believe is pertinent to carrying out the session > Proposal Templates The OR2015 proposal templates are a guideline to help you prepare an effective submission. They are provided in both the Word document and plain-text Markdown formats and provide details around the requirements for conference papers and panels (DOC, TXT, RTF) and 24/7's and posters (DOC, TXT, RTF). > Submission system The conference system will be open for submissions by 15 December 2014. PDF format is preferred. > Code of conduct We will be publishing guidelines for conduct for OR2015. > Scholarship programme OR2015 will again run a Scholarship Programme which will enable us to provide support for a small number of full registered places (including the poster reception and banquet) for the conference in Indianapolis. The programme is open to librarians, repository managers, developers and researchers in digital libraries and related fields. Applicants submitting a paper for the conference will be given priority consideration for funding. Please note that the programme does not cover costs such as accommodation, travel and subsistence. It is anticipated that the applicant’s home institution will provide financial support to supplement the OR Scholarship Award. Full details will shortly be available on the conference website. > Program Co-Chairs Holly Mercer, University of Tennessee William J Nixon, University of Glasgow Imma Subirats, FAO of the United Nations contact: or15-program-chairs@googlegroups.com > Local Hosts Indiana University Bloomington Libraries University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Virginia Tech University Libraries Contact: or2015(a)indiana.edu See: http://or2015.net/ Twitter:@OR2015Indy and #or2015 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/or2015
Today’s key fact: you (me too! - GW) are probably wrong about almost everything (including Agriculture and Agro-food industries) Most people around the world are pretty bad when it comes to knowing the numbers behind the news. But how issues such as immigration are perceived can shape political opinion and promote misconceptions… See: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/oct/29/todays-key-fact-you-are-probably-wrong-about-almost-everything GM potatoes > The Guardian Americans may soon be eating high-tech potatoes, after a genetically engineered (GE) spud that makers say resists bruising and reduces a possible carcinogen was approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday. The Innate Potato, a trademarked creation of Simplot, has DNA from other potatoes spliced into its own, through a process called RNA interference technology. The USDA also approved genetically modified alfalfa from Monsanto. See: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/08/innate-potato-simplot-gm-watchdogs > NYT A potato genetically engineered to reduce the amounts of a potentially harmful ingredient in French fries and potato chips has been approved for commercial planting, the Department of Agriculture announced on Friday. The potato’s DNA has been altered so that less of a chemical called acrylamide, which is suspected of causing cancer in people, is produced when the potato is fried. The new potato also resists bruising, a characteristic long sought by potato growers and processors for financial reasons. Potatoes bruised during harvesting, shipping or storage can lose value or become unusable. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/business/genetically-modified-potato-from-simplot-approved-by-usda.html Marriage seminar While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know each other's likes and dislikes.' He addressed the man, 'Can you name your wife's favorite flower?' Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, 'It's Pillsbury, isn't it? See: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillsbury_Company
The distribution of this efita newsletter is sponsored by vitisphere.com Please, contribute to the content of your efita newsletter, and advertise your events, new publications, new products and new project in this newsletter. Without your support, it will not survive! Contact: Guy WAKSMAN E-mail: guy.waksman(a)laposte.net To read this newsletter on our web site See: http://www.informatique-agricole.org/gazette/efita/efita_141117_670.htm
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