Digital Ag
Deployment of sensing, computational and
information technologies to improve the profitability and sustainability of agriculture
What is digital agriculture?
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?
Place, year, and level in atmosphere when Charles Keeling first measured carbon dioxide
What is <320 ppm at Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii) in 1958?
Percent of nitrogen fertilizer that is applied but then lost to the environment?
What is up to 60%
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.
The 4 R's of nutrient management
What are the right source, right rate, right time, and right place?
System of agriculture developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1970s that integrates agriculture and landscape architecture
What is permaculture?
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?
Climate change mitigation strategy highlighted by Danilo Moreta (TA)
What is Biological Nitrification Inhibition
(BNI) by maize after Brachiaria humidicola?
Approach to herd and pasture management used by Katherine at Backbone Farm
What is rotational grazing?
Type of geo-locationing system that allows for sub-inch accuracy.
What is Real Time Kinematic Technology (RTK) ?
Two main approaches to developing perennial grain crops
What are:
1. Domesticate a wild perennial
2. Cross annual crop with a perennial relatives
Three components of the resilience triangle?
What are 1) absorptive capacity, 2) adaptive capacity, and 3) recovery capacity?
Shift in organic agriculture characterized by:
• Larger farm size
• Simplified agroecosystems
• Standardized production
• Greater mechanization
• Reliance on input substitution
• Decline in direct-marketing
• Weakening of organic standards
What is conventionalization of organic agriculture?
Climate change adaptation strategy used by Ian Merwin at Black Diamond Farm
What are installing irrigation and digging ponds? Also, crop diversification.
Type of management used to reduce skips or overlap (of seeds and other inputs), especially in irregularly shaped fields.
What is Point-Row Management?
First perennial grain crop to be incorporated into commercial products
What is Kernza?
Best strategy for improving water infiltration according to Dr. Basche's (Soils into Sponges) analysis of management practices.
What is provding "continuous living cover"?
US Secretary of Agriculture who said "In America,
the big get bigger and the small go out"
Who is Sonny Perdue (2019)?
Note that Earl Butz said "Get big or get out" in 1973, a message that has been criticized for it's impact of agriculture and rural communities.
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 four types (or platforms) for remote sensing.
What are satellite, airplane, UAV (drone), and equipment mounted?
Producing a large benefit from including just a small level of perennials in agricultural landscape
What is the disproportionate benefits hypothesis from Asbjornsen, et al. (2013)?
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)?