Category — Fertilizers
Access To Big Data Turns Farm Machine Makers Into Tech Firms

Equipment makers with sufficient sales of machines around the country may in theory actually be able to predict, at least to some small but meaningful extent, the prices of various crops by analyzing the data its machines are sending in — such as “yields” of crops per acre, the amount of fertilizer used, or the average number of seeds of a given crop planted in various regions.
By Scott Carpenter
Forbes
Dec 31, 2020
Excerpt:
The combine harvester, a staple of farmers’ fields since the late 1800s, does much more these days than just vacuum up corn, soybeans and other crops. It also beams back reams of data to its manufacturer.
GPS records the combine’s precise path through the field as it moves. Sensors tally the number of crops gathered per acre and the spacing between them. On a sister machine called a planter, algorithms adjust the distribution of seeds based on which parts of the soil have in past years performed best. Another machine, a sprayer, uses algorithms to scan for weeds and zap them with pesticides. Meanwhile sensors record the wear and tear on the machines, so that when the farmer who operates them heads to the local distributor to look for a replacement part, it has already been ordered and is waiting for them.
[Read more →]January 6, 2021 Comments Off on Access To Big Data Turns Farm Machine Makers Into Tech Firms
UK: Monty Don slams garden centres for ‘actively choosing to do harm’ by selling compost made from peat

Britain’s peat bogs also locked in 5.5billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when they were formed
By Sabi Phagura
Mailonline
Oct 23, 2020
Excerpt:
Monty Don has blasted garden centres for ‘actively choosing to do harm’ by selling compost made from peat.
The broadcaster and writer has also urged gardeners to stop buying mass-produced disposable pot plants which are often grown in peat.
He said it was time they stopped ‘sticking their head in the sand’ and make climate change a priority over profits and convenience.
[Read more →]October 28, 2020 Comments Off on UK: Monty Don slams garden centres for ‘actively choosing to do harm’ by selling compost made from peat
North St. Louis Residents Want Foul-Smelling Farm Out Of Neighborhood

Credit Eli Chen | St. Louis Public Radio
Perennial City Composting co-founder Tim Kiefer has been composting chicken manure at his farm just north of Delmar Boulevard. Several neighbors claim it’s caused offensive odors.
By Eli Chen
ST Louis Public Radio
June 21, 2020
Excerpt:
About a year ago, Jermell Hasson Williams called the police because he smelled a terrible odor and thought someone might have died in the vacant house next door.
Instead, he discovered that the strong rancid odors were coming from a two-acre farm nearby owned by a local urban agriculture company, Perennial City Composting.
[Read more →]June 28, 2020 Comments Off on North St. Louis Residents Want Foul-Smelling Farm Out Of Neighborhood
Linking Food Waste to Hydroponics
Re-Nuble: Transforming Food Waste to Affordable Nutrients
From their Indiegogo site:
Our Mission and Vision: Our vision is to transfer the way we grow and distribute food, making healthy food affordable and accessible to all. With our business Re-Nuble, we set out to create a non-toxic, organic-based liquid nutrient solution with yields comparable to existing chemical alternatives.
March 17, 2015 Comments Off on Linking Food Waste to Hydroponics
Quality Assessment Of Soils Under Irrigation Along The Jakara Stream In Metropolitan Kano, Nigeria
Paper produced for the Department of Geography, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria (4731 words)
Email: [email protected]
“— a system of land use that is being practiced in metropolitan Kano will be considered. This system of land use that has been going on for centuries involves the use of stream water to irrigate land at the banks. Principal of these streams are Challawa, Getsi, Jakara and Salanta. The main objective is to produce fruits and vegetables for the consumption of the city dwellers. This system of land use has been called by Binns et al (2003), by the name urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA).”
May 15, 2008 Comments Off on Quality Assessment Of Soils Under Irrigation Along The Jakara Stream In Metropolitan Kano, Nigeria