Digital Ag
Deployment of sensing, computational and
information technologies to improve the profitability and sustainability of agriculture
What is digital agriculture?
Place, year, and level in atmosphere when Charles Keeling first measured carbon dioxide
What is <320 ppm at Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii) in 1958?
Essential micronutrient that plays a vital role in photosynthesis, respiration, and reproduction. At high concentrations, it can exchange electrons with water, oxygen, and hydrogen peroxide in plants to form Reactive Oxygen Species, which can be toxic to plants.
What is copper?
Sustainable management practice used by Rick Villnave to reduce soil erosion.
What is cover cropping? Also reducing tillage with chisel plowing instead of moldboard plowing.
Two approaches to developing perennial grain crops
What are: 1) domesticate a wild perennial, 2) cross annual crop with a perennial relative
Full name for acronym NDVI
What is Normalized Difference Vegetation Index?
In addition to extreme weather such as heat waves, droughts, and flooding, another reason why many agricultural regions will experience declines in crop and livestock production
What is increased stress due to weeds, diseases, insect pests?
Type (category) of ecosystem service that includes pollination, water purification, and restriction of pest populations
What is a regulating ecosystem service?
Management strategy used by Ian Merwin at Black Diamond
What is Integrated Fruit Production (IFP)?
The planting of trees or shrubs in rows with grain, forage, or horticultural crops cultivated in the alleys between the rows of woody plants
What is Alley Cropping?
Type of geo-locationing system that allows for sub-inch accuracy.
What is Real Time Kinematic Technology (RTK) ?
Three components of the resilience triangle?
What are 1) absorptive capacity, 2) adaptive capacity, and 3) recovery capacity?
Approach to organic farming that typically leads to failure that involves avoiding prohibited chemicals but also avoiding practices needed to build soil health and prevent pest and disease outbreaks
What is organic by neglect?
Climate change adaptation strategy used by Ian Merwin at Black Diamond Farm
What are installing irrigation and digging ponds? Also, crop diversification.
First perennial grain crop to be incorporated into commercially available products. Selected for domestication by Peggy Wagoner in 1980's then developed further at The Land Institute.
What is intermediate wheatgrass (aka Kernza)?
Type of management used to reduce skips or overlap (of seeds and other inputs), especially in irregularly shaped fields.
What is Point-Row Management?
Best strategy for improving water infiltration according to Dr. Basche's (Soils into Sponges) analysis of management practices.
What is provding "continuous living cover"?
Year that the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) was passed in congress
What is 1990?
Approach Thor Oechsner uses to overcome the backwards business model in agriculture.
What is vertical integration, adding value, and direct sales through seed cleaning, milling, and the bakery?
Backwards business model is buying at retail (buy high) and selling at wholesale (sell low).
The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable wa
What is permaculture?
Decision support tool based on a dynamic simulation model that allows farmers to adjust nitrogen application rates based on site-specific conditions. Developed at Cornell by Dr. Harold van Es.
What is Adapt-N?
Largest source of GHG emissions (in terms of CO2 equivalents) associated with soil management for crop production?
What is N2O from nitrogen fertilizer?
Only agroecological practice that contributes to all seven ecosystem services evaluated (based on table from Kremen and Miles 2014).
What is cover cropping?
Strategy used at Dilmun Hill to reduce weeds prior to planting without using soil tillage
What is tarping (e.g., covering the soil with large tarp for an extended period)?
Idea that the greatest benefits from adding perennials occur in landscapes the are dominated by annual crops
What is the disproportionate benefits hypothesis?