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

Coincidentally

See EBBH

Projects developed by Nick Sigrimis (Agricultural University of Athens)

> Vineyards and olive trees protection by aerial treatments using drones
> About cannabis cultivation
> Interview with Nick Sigrimis (2012)
> Agricultural Business Summit: Accelerating Growth an Competitiveness (2013)
> Sigrimis Reflections in China

Contact : Nick SIGRIMIS
Email: ns(a)aua.gr

Good old days (?????): Digger by Vincent van Gogh (1882)

Measuring soil compaction at planting

Compaction damage at seeding is costing you, but is it enough to warrant investing in new equipment? To find out, AGCO research effectiveness, and potential return-on-investment, of compaction-prevention tech.
See futurefarming.com


Multi Farming Systems: Autonomous future for Multiplanter

Australian Multi Farming Systems has plans for a 92 metre Multiplanter and an autonomous version.
See futurefarming.com


Good old days (?????): Man Digging in the Orchard by Van Gogh, The Hague, July 1883

How did we the future yesterday??
See the incredible collection developed by Alain Fraval

Good old days (?????): Le berger et le troupeau par Shkurko Anatoly Nikiforovich , 1954

Tech adoption: How can small farmers adopt new technology?

Investing in new equipment can seem like an insurmountable hurdle for smaller-scale producers.
See futurefarming.com


Precision seeding: Precision seeding for higher yields and less weeds

Higher yields and fewer weeds are possible if crops are sown in more uniform spatial patterns.
See futurefarming.com

Good old days (?????): Aube par Jules Breton

Autonomous tractors: Autonomous planting comes to the American Midwest

Illinois-based company Sabanto pursues efficiency with smaller-scale approach to equipment.
See futurefarming.com

US warns food costs may double with EU's farm-to-fork push, Bloomberg, by Mike Dorning

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue warned that the European Union’s “Farm to Fork” environmental initiative will stoke trade tensions as European producers face higher costs and seek protectionist measures.
Perdue said in a conference call Tuesday with European and U.S. reporters that world food prices would double if the initiative were followed globally. He said that the estimate was based on conclusions from U.S. Department of Agriculture economists he spoke to.
See bloomberg.com


Syngenta acquires biologicals company Valagro, AFN, by Jack Ellis
See agfundernews.com

Good old days (?????): Cider apples by Henry Herbert La Thangue, circa 1899

SwarmFarm raises $3.2m to grow its open platform for ag robotics, AFN, by Jack Ellis

Australia’s SwarmFarm Robotics has raised A$4.5 million ($3.22 million) in a funding round led by local VCs Tenacious Ventures and Artesian. The Queensland Business Development Fund also supported the round.

The startup was founded in 2012 by farmer couple Andrew and Jocie Bate, who also run a dryland crop and beef cattle operation in the remote settlement of Gindie, Queensland.

https://agfundernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/swarmfarm-robot-e1602142883826.jpg

See agfundernews.com

Good old days (?????): Tondre des moutons par Jean-François Millet (1857)

The Efita newsletter is sponsored by:

Neglected Crops Could Be The Global Solution For Food Insecurity, by Daphne Ewing-Chow

Globally, an over-reliance on a few staple crops, namely maize, wheat and rice, has resulted in limited dietary diversity— a leading cause of persistent malnutrition. These few foods represent more than half of the world’s calorie intake and have typically played a central role in the fight against food security, but to no avail— hunger, inequality and non-communicable diseases continue to rise. Perhaps it is time to try something new.
See forbes.com


Good old days (?????): Travailleurs dans un champ de betteraves (1874-76) par Max Liebermann

Targeted RNA crop protection – the next frontier in biopesticides, AFN, by guest contributor: Joe Hanson

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From sustainable food production to public health crises, RNA technology offers a new way to develop solutions that work with nature, not against it. Next-generation RNA-based products can be used to naturally and safely solve agricultural and healthcare problems, with the potential to impact an even broader range of industries in time.
See agfundernews.com


The place of Europe in the new plant breeding landscape: evolution of field trials, by Agnès Ricroch
See europeanscientist.com


Russia is spreading lies about Covid vaccines, says UK military chief

Head of armed forces says both China and Russia trying to undermine cohesion in west.
.../...
Russia is seeking to destabilise countries around the world by sowing disinformation about coronavirus vaccines that is shared rapidly across social media, the head of the armed forces has warned.

Gen Sir Nick Carter, the chief of defence staff, said the propaganda tactic reflected a strategy of “political warfare” aggressively undertaken by Beijing as well as Moscow “designed to undermine cohesion” across the west.
.../...
In July, a fake press release was posted to websites of the pro-Russian self-declared state in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine. It falsely claimed that the US had conducted vaccine trials on Ukrainian volunteers, some of whom had died.

The trials never happened but the misleading narrative spread in several languages, including on a prominent Australian anti-vaccination Facebook group, despite multiple attempts to fact-check and debunk it.

Carter said it was an example of “digital authoritarianism” alongside well-known Kremlin cyber and hacking attacks, in a rare policy speech delivered with the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, sitting alongside him.

A similar approach was adopted by China, he added, where “the Chinese Communist party is forging a future of mass surveillance” and ranking and monitoring of individuals based on how they behave online.

The speech comes in the run-up to a five-year integrated review of defence and foreign policy that is expected to see the UK seek to invest more heavily in cyber and covert capabilities, reflecting a belief that Britain is already engaged in a persistent low-level conflict with authoritarian rivals.
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See theguardian.com