TerrAvion, Servi-Tech Partner to Expand Offerings

TerrAvion takes hundreds of low-altitude flights weekly to capture a bird’s-eye view of a farm. It then uploads those images to the cloud within hours so farmers can make informed decisions.

The company not only delivers data, it also provides aerial photographs, NDVI images, thermal images, custom color maps, and histograms at resolutions high enough that you can see an individual plant.

Servi-Tech customers will now have access to those services through a partnership with TerrAvion. Servi-Tech provides agronomic services to over 1,900 growers across seven states. Its crop consulting division has over 1.1 million acres under contract.

The company’s labs analyze soil, water, feed, and fertilizers and consult with growers on issues around soil fertility, disease and insect control, irrigation, and data management.
 
“TerrAvion is providing us with a new way to give our growers NVDI, thermal, and color images, and display them in our data portal,” says Jeff Kugler, CEO of STEPS, LLC.

“TerrAvion’s flights cover larger areas in a much more reliable and cost-effective way than drones or satellites ever could,” says Greg Ruehle, president & CEO for Servi-Tech, Inc.

“We are excited to team up with TerrAvion to give our customers the information they need through aerial imagery to make more informed decisions around irrigation, soil quality, and the health of their plants so they can improve their yield each season.”

“Servi-Tech is a leader in crop consulting and understands how vital imagery and timely data is to growers to improving crop yield,” says Robert Morris, CEO of TerrAvion.

“We are excited to work with their team and help their customers leverage all types of aerial images to help identify problems before they become serious issues that can impact their bottom line.”

The two companies are also exploring ways to offer imagery solutions to a broader client base. To learn more, visit terravion.com.

source: successful farming

3 Big Things Today, January 21

Soybeans Lower in Overnight Trading; Bayer, Monsanto Say They’ll Add Jobs, Invest in U.S.

1. Soybeans Modestly Lower Amid Profit-Taking After Price Jump

Soybeans were slightly lower in overnight trading amid profit-taking after yesterday’s jump in prices.
Futures on Tuesday rose 23¢ as excessive rainfall keeps growers in some parts of Argentina, the world’s third-biggest producer of the oilseed behind the U.S. and Brazil, from planting their crops.

Investors who’d bought contracts when they were recently below $10 likely closed some out and booked profits, analysts said. Some growers see now as a good time to sell beans with prices above the $10.60 mark, adding supplies to the market.

Soybean futures for March delivery fell 3¼¢ to $10.66 a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soy meal futures lost $3.10 to $345.70, and soy oil gained 0.12¢ to 35.68¢ a pound.
Corn futures rose ¼¢ to $3.65¾ a bushel.

Wheat for March delivery ¼¢ to $4.33¾ a bushel in Chicago, while Kansas City futures fell ½¢ to $4.51½ a bushel.
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2. Bayer AG, Monsanto Pay Homage to Trump, Promise Billions in Investments

Bayer AG, which is planning to acquire Monsanto Co., was the latest multinational corporation to pay homage to President-elect Donald Trump, saying it will invest billions of dollars and create jobs in the U.S. if its merger receives the necessary regulatory approvals.

The news was first reported by Fox Business Network.

Sean Spicer, the incoming press secretary for Trump, told members of the media that Bayer committed to invest $8 billion in research and development, keep 100% of Monsanto’s workforce in the U.S., and add 3,000 domestic tech jobs.

Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said in a joint statement that the investments will create “jobs that will keep America at the forefront of agricultural innovation and that serve U.S. farmers by delivering better products and services faster.”

Companies have been jumping on the bandwagon, bragging about adding jobs in a bid to appease the president-elect, who’s threatened to impose significant import duties on products made overseas by U.S. companies. Wamart, Ford, and Fiat Chyrsler have all bragged recently about adding jobs or building their products in the U.S.

3. Flood Warnings Abound as Rapid Ice Melts, Jams Cause River Levels to Rise

Some flood warnings are in effect for counties along rivers in several Midwestern states this morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Flood warnings have been issued along several rivers and tributaries in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana as ice that coated roads and cars melts amid rising temperatures, the NWS said.

A flash flood watch has been issued for the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois as a levee may possibly fail amid rising river levels due to an ice jam. If the levee fails, flash flooding is likely along the Green River, according to the agency.

Weather maps in the Midwest are otherwise mostly quiet other than some dense fog advisories along the Kansas-Missouri border.

Fadama: 27 rice production groups cleared for funds receipt

Not fewer than 27 rice production groups under the Abuja Fadama III Project have been cleared for fund disbursement.

The Acting Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr Musa Aliyu, informed that the groups have received their clearance during the opening ceremony of the pre-disbursement training programme organised for Irrigated Rice Farmers’ Groups.

“It is gratifying to note that the 27 business plans prepared by 27 rice production groups across the FCT have received clearance for disbursement from the National Fadama Coordination Office. It is in view of this achievement that we are organising this pre-disbursement training exercise”.

He said the development was a highlight of the implementation of Fadama III (Additional Financing) in the nations’ capital, especially in rice production.

Aliyu said continual sensitisation and mobilisation had led to preparation of 164 business plans by various production groups across the value chain crops.

The acting secretary however urged the participants to sustain the achievements recorded by Fadama III project towards attaining food security in the FCT.

“As you continue the implementation of your business plans, ensure that all resources at your disposal are put to the best use to ensure a lucrative enterprise,” he said.

The central aim of the Additional Financing (AF) for the Third National Fadama Development Project for Nigeria is to increase incomes for users of rural lands and water resources within the Fadama areas in a sustainable manner throughout the recipient’s territory.

The additional financing will focus on improving farm productivity while increasing performance of clusters of farmers engaged in priority food staples namely rice, cassava, sorghum and horticulture in six selected states with high potential.

Wheat: Yield-increasing enzymes discovered

Botanists at Lancaster University, Rothamsted Research, and The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre researched a naturally occurring plant enzyme known as Rubisco, in a bid to explore its photosynthesis-boosting abilities and crop yield potentials.

As part of a landmark research carried out in January, the team measured photosynthesis in 25 genotypes of wheat–including wild relatives of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)–and found variation exists even among closely related genotypes.

Each type was surveyed to identify superior Rubisco enzymes for improving photosynthesis.

Two of the most efficient were Rubisco from plants known as Aegilops cylindrica and Hordeum vulgare (barley), which both showed promising Rubisco catalytic properties that should be explored in the context of improving photosynthesis, and ultimately grain yield in wheat.

Models suggest that incorporating the new enzymes into wheat could increase photosynthesis by up to 20 per cent under some field conditions.

Wheat is a crucial source of food, providing more than 20 per cent of the calories consumed worldwide. And with projections that the world population will rise to over nine billion by the year 2050, there is increasing pressure to meet global demand for food.

Nigeria’s domestic wheat production is small, at a meagre 70,000 tons.

The crop is mainly grown in the northern states of Bornu, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Adamawa, Sokoto and Kebbi, where wheat is known by the local name, “Alikama”

Wheat is a winter crop grown only during the cold season for maximum yield. The wheat grown in Nigeria is hard wheat, according to a research scientist at the Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri, Dr. Oluwasina Olabanji.

He reportedly said, “The wheat we are cultivating is not indigenous wheat; it is the exotic varieties. Our materials come from ICARDA and CIMMYT through germplasm exchange. We evaluated these materials and they were bred for tropical climates. They are heat-tolerant.

“Generally, there are two types of wheat; the bread wheat used for making bread and the durum wheat used for noodles, biscuits and confectioneries. The latter has lower gluten, a kind of protein.”

According to him, the average grain yield for wheat in the country is above 2 tonnes per hectare. Research has however shown that this can be tripled if proper varieties and crop management is adopted.

FG to restructure, recapitalise BoA with N500bn

The Federal Government has set up a 21-man steering committee to restructure and recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture.

The committee would commence the restructuring with N500bn and work within the next three to one month to actualise its goal.

Inaugurating the committee in Abuja on Monday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, urged the committee to work within a record time to actualise the goal.

He said the restructuring was aimed at revitalising the operations of the Bank to make it more responsive to its mandate.

Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the restructuring, would strengthen the bank as a platform for providing loans to Small and Medium Enterprise farmers and cooperatives among others.

He said the approach was a pre-privatisation strategy preferred by the Federal Government to pave way for the injection of financial and other requisite resources into the Bank.

He said, “It is noteworthy that in its over 20 years of existence, the BoA has faced myriad of challenges which include, poor funding, poor stakeholder buy in, particularly Federal Government agencies and erosion of stakeholders funds.”

Ogbeh, also the Chairman of the committee, said the committee would commence the restructuring with N500bn and work within the next three to one month to actualise its goal.

The minister said the committee was expected to give the Bank a face-lift, look into the issues of staffing, electronic improvement, work in every community nationwide, provide credits to SMEs and to farmers small or big.

Ogbeh said the Central Bank of Nigeria would hand over the Anchor Borrowers Scheme to the Bank after the restructuring to effectively finance agricultural projects.

He said, “There will be a better run financed BOA so that the interest rate will be easily accommodated by farmers. We will recover some of the credits owed by farmers because some of them have offered to pay.”

The CBN Governor and a member of the committee, Mr Godwin Emefiele, described its Anchor Borrowers Programme which started in 2016 as `a success’.

He expressed optimism that the committee would work to ensure that the BOA achieved its aims and objectives in a very short time.

According to him, the loans that are currently given to farmers through the Anchor Borrowers Scheme is in a single digit

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is asking us to reduce the interest rate to about nine per cent to enable farmers buy inputs, go to the farm, make a living and feed the country,’’ Emefiele said.
The Managing Director of BOA, Prof. Danbala Danju, commended the Federal Government for its initiative to restructure the Bank.

He expressed regret over the bad and non- repayment attitude of farmers after collecting funds from the Bank.

Danju said the Bank was targeting single digit interest rate on loans to farmers by the end of the restructuring.

The managing director said the Bank would work with the private sector and the international development agencies to actualise their set target

He said, “The Bank needs to be recapitalised to energise the agriculture sector in line with best practices all over the world.

“We expect a restructuring plan that will look at our operating model, human resources and the entire business plan so that agriculture will be properly financed in Nigeria.

“Agriculture has been under-funded and the key challenge is how to source the fund so that we can assist farmers.

“The key challenge now is how we can reconstitute ourselves to properly identify farmers and ensure that when farmers are given loans and support, they pay back.”

The committee is made up of the Ministers of Finance, Industry, Trade and Investment, Planning and representatives from the BOA, ministry of Justice, Bureau of Public Enterprise, among others.
The nine members known as Project Delivery Team, would also assist the committee to deliver on the restructuring mandate.