|
You can also view the message online
|
|
FAA moves forward with UAS rules The long-awaited proposal for smaller unmanned aerial system, or UAS, rules offers hope for wider us of drones in agriculture. See: http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-farming/faa-moves-forward-uas-rules Enter the farm to the future Another way we're bringing you innovation to help maximize yield and quality. See: https://www.bayercropscience.us/rewards-and-programs/farm-to-future Aurea Imaging… …makes precision farming data available for consultants, private investors and land owners. See: http://www.aureaimaging.com/en/index.php/precision-farming Agriculture Giants Boost Cybersecurity To Shield Farm Data; Companies Like Monsanto And Deere Invest More As business Becomes More Datacentric - The Wall Street Journal - 19-Feb-2015 - By Jacob Bunge Agriculture companies are building sturdier digital fences to fend off cyberattacks that industry officials say are increasingly targeting the sector. Companies including Monsanto Co. and Deere & Co. are investing more in cybersecurity as the farming business grows more datacentric, with satellite-steered tractors and algorithm-driven planting services expanding across the U.S. Farm Belt, executives said at an industry event Thursday. Seed and chemical companies have long guarded their technology with patents and security measures, but the expanding array of farm-level data collected by high-tech combines and other farm equipment in recent years has increased concerns that the sector will become a bigger target of hackers. “As an industry, we're still new to it," said Robert Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer, in an interview at an annual farm-outlook forum run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Monsanto, which was targeted by hackers last year, is working to be “as protective of our data and our farmers' data as we can be," Mr. Fraley said. The St. Louis company also is consulting with government and cybersecurity experts as it shores up its defenses, but given the frequency and strength of cyberattacks, “we're going to be living in a world where none of that is going to be 100% effective," he said. Monsanto in May confirmed a security breach in a computer server that left exposed some customers' credit-card information and employee data, though the company said at that time that its investigation suggested the parties behind the breach weren't trying to steal customer information. The company's websites have also drawn attacks by hacker groups. Such incursions carry weight for farmers considering a range of new farm-management services that often involve collecting information on soil content and past crop yields to generate planting recommendations, said Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Ag companies have already been hacked, and we tell people that," Ms. Thatcher said during a panel discussion at the USDA event. “It will happen, so farmers have to know that." About 87% of farmers said they were unsure of what to do if a security breach occurred at a company holding their data, according to results of a Farm Bureau survey published in October, and only about one in 20 said that companies managing the information had outlined a security-breach plan. So far, the agribusiness sector hasn't been a prime target for hackers, said Corey Reed, a senior vice president with Deere, the world's largest seller of farm equipment. “But there are people around the world waking up every day figuring out how to get into this data." Moline, Ill.-based Deere is seeking stronger policies to identify and deal with cyberthreats to the agriculture sector, Mr. Reed said during the panel discussion. See: http://www.wsj.com/articles/agriculture-giants-boost-cybersecurity-to-shield-farm-data-1424380098
Building roads key to combating hunger, study says Investments in basic transport and electricity in developing nations are among the best ways to curb hunger by 2030, since a quarter of all food is now wasted after harvest, according to a report issued by International Food Policy Research. See: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/development-policy/building-roads-key-combating-hunger-study-says-311805 Developing New Strategies for Nourishing the World––by IFPRI’s Director General, Shenggen Fan Recently returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dr. Fan points out that despite progress in reducing poverty, the world has “failed miserably” to reduce malnutrition. He offers suggestions for both countries and the international community to help “reshape agriculture” for better nutrition, health, and environmental sustainability. See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shenggen-fan/developing-new-strategies_b_6573436.html The Alar scare Today I will tell you a story. This is a true story that took place a quarter of century ago, yet quite topical. I chose this case, one of the first of its kind, because I lived it directly and because it is indicative of a way of doing that has found its followers and still works as well. We are in 1989 in the United States, the country of the apple. A famous American saying, widely known, and used in all possible ways, as a saying, in humor, in advertising, contre-publicity or policy, which is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". See: http://culturagriculture.blogspot.fr/search/label/1-%20English Nearly 70% of U.S. ag companies and over 50% of Canadian ag companies expect their workforce to increase in size within the next two years, according to the recently released Agribusiness HR Review See: http://www.agcareers.com/newsletters/Agribusiness-HR-Review%E2%80%93Report-Released.htm Newsletter No. 74 (February 2015) - European Soil Data Centre See: http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/utilities/newsletter/201502.pdf See: http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/utilities/newsletter/201502.htm 50th National Farm Machinery Show draws huge crowd NFMS celebrates 50th anniversary, sees rise in attendance from last year. See: http://farmindustrynews.com/farm-equipment/50th-national-farm-machinery-show-draws-huge-crowd
Divorce vs. murder A nice, calm and respectable lady went into the pharmacy, walked up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, "I'd like to buy some cyanide. The pharmacist asked, "Why in the world do you need cyanide? The lady replied, "I need it to poison my husband. The pharmacist's eyes got big and he explained, "Lord have mercy! I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband, that's against the law. I'll lose my license! They'll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide. Just get a divorce!" The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife. The pharmacist looked at the picture and said, "You didn't tell me you had a prescription." 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_150302_685.htm
|
