Climate friendly cows
The cattle industry is under increasing scrutiny for its contribution to climate change, but with adversity comes innovation and agriculture has risen to the challenge by developing methane inhibiting supplements.
Trends
Bees as helpers in crop protection
Pollinating bees could provide an effective way to apply fungicide to strawberries.
Digital Technology Reduces Agriculture’s Climate Footprint
Prof. Peter Pickel, responsible for future technologies at John Deere's European Technology Center in Kaiserslautern, explains new ways of combining efficient agriculture and environmental protection.
Ideas for Bees
The European Bee Award aims to protect pollinators through technical innovation and the implementation of new agricultural practices. The award is based on a joint initiative by John Deere and the European Association of Professional Beekeepers. Gilles Dryancour, one of the founders of the award, shares his thoughts about the importance of bees and showcases some of the winning ideas.
Energy Valley
Geothermal, solar and wind energy, methane extracted from manure to produce high-quality natural gas and electricity - there is plenty of green energy in a valley in the middle of the US desert.
Estate has based its business on hemp
This is life at Moellerup Estate: Hemp in the field and in a variety of foods, and the development of proprietary technology for the use of hemp and other raw materials. The estate was run as an ordinary farm for almost 800 years, until the owners discovered the possibilities of hemp as a crop.
Lives and Livelihoods in the Balance
Through its support of the Rayuwa initiative, John Deere is helping farmers in Nigeria improve their profitability to better weather the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agave: Tequila turned biofuel
Lick the salt, take a shot, bite the lime. Tequila! This might be a more typical association with the alcoholic derivative of the agave plant, but in the continuing search for alternatives to fossil fuels, one research project has grown it to produce bioethanol.
A guide to low carbon farming
Agriculture is a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, but the adoption of low carbon practices can turn this around.
Making Protein out of a Feather
While conducting his field doctorate research, Dr Mohammad H A Ibrahim came across an interesting bacterium at a poultry farm in Egypt. Now it is part of a process producing high-grade feed protein and bio-degradable plastics from waste organic matter.
Harvesting metal with plants
Some plants absorb the metal in impressive quantities. In certain cases, this phytoextraction can be put to good use.
“Apps bring benefits of the Operations Centre to the field”
At John Deere's site in Kaiserslautern in Germany, Torsten Kreutzer works on developing mobile apps for modern agriculture and precision farming. At the family business based in his hometown, he personally tests the applications in the field.
“Producers gain power over their decision making”
How to get started with precision farming, and how quickly does it spread in practice? An interview with Peer Leithold, the managing director of Agricon, a consulting firm he founded in 1997.
Precision Farming: How it works
Variable rate application can now be used in almost all work areas. However, the focus is not on tools, but on the agricultural goal. Here is a current overview of data sources and their practical use.
Getting into precision farming
Precision farming can make farms more efficient, sustainable and economic. But with the multitude of possibilities, the question often arises: "Where to start? We show examples of three farmers who have dared to take this step and tell you how they did.
Nemo’s Garden
The US firm Ocean Reef is experimenting with underwater cultivation in the Italian Riviera. The goal of the project is to develop a technique for using the ocean for irrigation in arid regions.
Enough water – longer dry phases
Water is one of the essential foundations of agriculture. How will its availability in Europe develop in the future? Our infographics provide an overview.
“Climate adaptation will be an ongoing process.”
The European LIFE "AgriAdapt" project has been working on the topic of climate adaptation for four years. Patrick Trötschler from the German project partner “Bodensee-Stiftung” speaks about the prospects in the cultivation sector and efficient drought prevention.
Direct sales instead of supermarket
During the corona crisis, farmers are seizing the opportunity to open up new business areas. We have collected three examples from three countries.
The autonomous swarm tractor from John Deere
What would an electric tractor look like if we didn't have to think about the power supply anymore? Simon Pfaffmann from John Deere's ETIC invites us to take part in a thought experiment – and explains how real this idea is.
Self-fertilising maize
In southern Mexico, researchers have discovered giant maize with astonishing properties. Other varieties can benefit from this.
Remote Monitoring for Health And Productivity
A technological revolution is changing the face of modern dairy farming in the form of a bolus that can detect temperature, activity and pH, sending early alerts of heats, calvings and illness to the producer.
Infographics: Protein in Europe
The autonomy level of European animal husbandry varies depending on the protein group. Fact is: Europe will remain dependent on imports. However, in the long term, breeding and technical advances will increase independence. See our interactive graphics to find out what is happening where.
Interview: Using more home-grown sources of protein.
Alexander Döring, secretary general of FEFAC (the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation), on reducing the protein gap.
Protein in Europe: is it enough?
Making Europe less dependent on imports of protein raw materials is a challenge for the future. We meet two producers who are doing their bit to improve Europe’s protein production.
Let it rain
Only a small fraction of farmers, gardeners and winemakers use the rainwater falling on their farm and roof surfaces to irrigate their crops or as drinking water. The mindset plays a greater role here than economic calculations.
A Comeback in East Africa
Halters, twine and rope: Farmers from across the world rely on products spun from the natural fibre, sisal. Until the late 1960s, Tanzania was the leading producer of sisal worldwide. But then the successful advent of synthetic fibres resulted in a prolonged slump. Now this versatile natural fibre, and thus northern Tanzania, is experiencing a new boom.
Let’s tell the children
A modern farm is no place for children, it’s often said. So how will they discover and understand the joys and challenges of rural life? Peter Grimshaw met some farming champions who are dedicated to inspiring the rising generation.
Farmers help to shape Cuba´s Future
Cuba is allowing more and more private enterprise and is seeking normality in its relations with the US. Agriculture is also changing as a result.
From hazelnut to cotton
Turkish agriculture has lots to offer. With products such as hazelnuts, figs or sultanas, Turkey is a global leader in production. Looking at the whole industry shows an impressive variety of products, whereas many regions concentrate on growing only one specific crop.
Neighbourhood: cultivating a good relationship
The countryside is a space to live and to work. And thus often an arena of conflicts of how to use that space. A challenge that needs to be tackled by farmers themselves.
Manage the farm digitally
What was previously only possible with different individual software tools, the John Deere Operations Centre is combining into one easy-to-use solution: All work operations in the palm of your hand – on your desktop, tablet, and smartphone.
Turnout in the Flint Hills
Each spring truckloads of cattle from as far away as Mexico are brought to the Flint Hills, the last remnant of tallgrass prairie in North America to graze on the rich early-growth grass – a major logistics effort for farmers and forwarders.
Soil Compaction:
Facts and Figures
It is particularly hard to assess the damage caused by compaction in deeper soil layers. But research data and statistics indicate a considerable impact on agricultural productivity.
River Mile 270: A major hub for agriculture
The Columbia River is the largest river in North America in terms of the volume of water flowing into the Pacific. With over 26m tonnes of grain moving through it, it is the third largest transport corridor for grain.
Your farm in your pocket
In 2016, Alexandru Haita started to use John Deere’s web-based farming platform MyJohnDeere.com and the associated tool “Operations Centre” to manage his farming operation. And he has not looked back since.
Soil under pressure
Soil compaction is a well-known problem, but its impact is often underestimated and difficult to assess. And it is a growing concern for farming stakeholders.
Farmers as trade experts
Fresh players in the market and new factors influencing pricing mean grain prices are fluctuating significantly more than in the past. When selling their grain, farmers therefore need to focus on good risk management.
Don’t take soil compaction lightly
Prof Rainer Horn qualified as a professor of soil science in 1981 and from 1998 to 2017 he held the chair for soil science at Kiel University, Germany. His scientific interests are soil physics and soil ecology with a particular focus on physical land degradation.
Grazing management in the spotlight
Milk producers are under pressure from persistently low producer prices. At the same time, demand for more natural foods is rising. One solution could be to focus more on grazing management. But just "opening the cowshed door and let the cows out" is not enough.
How to get started with contracting
Many farmers consider contracting as an option to spread their overheads and generate additional income. It’s also a potential route into agriculture for new entrants. But it’s not easy, so what should prospective contractors know to make them top of their field?
Hidden Hunger
There are many types of hunger. If we want to feed the world, we should not only pay attention to the quantity but also to the quality of food.