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January 2020 Blog Posts (5)

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Visiting a citrus cooperative

AALP class 17 left Seville the morning of January 15 heading to Sunaran Citrus Coop near the town of Palma De Rio. We were greeted by our tour guide Rosa for an informative tour of one of the biggest citrus coops in Spain. The coop consists of 98-100 members, all of which are farmer members.

The coop has 1500 acres of land growing a wide variety of orange variety’s with the main being “Salustiana” which is a juice press variety. Besides oranges they also do grapefruits with the main…

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Added by AALP on January 16, 2020 at 4:00am — No Comments

Picking strawberries in January

Day 7 of AALP Class 17 IST contintued with one of the highlights so far on the trip, a fruit cooperative named Cuna De Platero. We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour of their greenhouses where they allowed to try some of the different varieties of strawberries that they grow.  The greenhouses are once again made with plastic and are of similar style to our previous visits this trip. They have a cooperative structure, which is something we have come to find is very common here in Spain.…

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Added by AALP on January 14, 2020 at 4:00am — No Comments

Exploring traditional and modern agriculture in Spain

Jan 12 - Sunday

Our day began leaving the sunny Mediterranean coast and travelling to the small rural village of Alameda. We visited the Centre Tematico del campo Andaluz. This was a museum dedicated to teaching people about the past farming practices and traditions. We were met by a museum guide, and two local farmers, a father and son – Antonio Sr. and Antonio Jr. Antonio Sr. was 90 years old and had, in his lifetime, farmed in the traditional way which, for olive oil production,…

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Added by AALP on January 13, 2020 at 7:00am — No Comments

Ag and city tours make up our first few days in Spain

The AALP Class left the beautiful Toledo to head to a feedlot outside the city. We were toured around a feedlot that is part of a cooperative that consists of 9,500 head of cattle. Our host, who is the president of the cooperative, has two feedlots and 600 hectares of crop land. It was interesting to learn that the cooperative’s major export market outside of Spain are Lebanon, Turkey and Israel. These destinations have particularly stringent standards for how the beef must be treated and…

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Added by AALP on January 10, 2020 at 11:00am — No Comments

AALP Class 17 leaves for Spain

Sadly, one class member, Bernice Weber Passchier, is ill and was unable to join us for our rescheduled International Study Tour. The rest of AALP Class 17 met at Pearson airport and boarded the plane to Philadelphia; after a short layover we were on an overnight flight to Madrid, Spain. 

Once we landed, we met up with Rafa, our bus driver, and Ismael, our tour guide. We were happy to learn that Ismael had an agricultural background and has been doing ag-focused tours for the last five…

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Added by AALP on January 9, 2020 at 11:00am — No Comments

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Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Crop Undercount Raises Questions About Reliability of U.S.D.A. Data

The Agriculture Department projected last July that farmers would harvest 86.8 million acres of corn in autumn. The projection was repeatedly revised upward until, in January, the department found 1.3 million more acres of corn — an area larger than Delaware — and concluded that the final amount harvested was 91.3 million acres. “It was a miss. No other way to call it,” said Seth Meyer, who served as the department’s chief economist until leaving in December. The 5 percent undercount may seem small, but it was the department’s worst projection in recent memory. It came as the Trump administration was cutting staff at the Agriculture Department and as President Trump’s trade war raised prices for equipment and hurt exports. Some people in agriculture have become increasingly worried about the reliability of department data. That skepticism could lead to a breakdown of the historically close relationship between the department and farmers it serves, they said. “U.S.D.A. always had a

Weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time. “April will go down as one of the wettest on record, and that moisture has helped ease drought conditions for the majority of the state,” said Secretary Naig. “Looking ahead, the forecast trends a bit cooler and drier through the first few weeks of May, which should give farmers a longer window to keep the planters running.” Crop Report There were 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 3, 2026, which is 1.0 day more than last year. Topsoil moisture condition rated 1 percent very short, 9 percent short, 81 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 2 percent very short, 13 percent short, 78 percent ade

Ten years of Canadian agricultural innovation through EMILI

This year marks the tenth anniversary of EMILI (Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative), the culmination of a group of community leaders working towards a common goal: to grow Canada’s economy, with a specific focus on advancing agtech in the Prairies. Jacqueline Keena, Managing Director, explained that EMILI “is an industry-led non-profit committed to driving agriculture innovation, partnership, and engagement. We provide innovators access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices to increase productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector.” At the heart of it all are the partnerships that EMILI cultivates between producers, industry leaders, investors and innovators. These stakeholders work together “to grow a sustainable, economically resilient digital agriculture industry.” This work is done in a number of ways. “We know that Canadian agriculture can lead the world through transformative innovati

This is Agriculture: Field Trial Modernization Scientist

As a field trial modernization scientist at Corteva Agriscience, Dr. Kevin Falk is dedicated to improving the way field scientists work. The lead on Corteva Agriscience’s spray drone trials taking place at EMILI’s Innovation Farms, Falk holds an M.Sc from the University of Manitoba, a Ph.D in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Agronomy from Iowa State University, and an Advanced RPAS Pilot Certificate from Transport Canada. Here, Falk shares his path to becoming a field scientist, the importance of relationships in building his career, and some keen observations about the digital agriculture industry. Describe your job or product in one sentence. I build digital tools and workflows that help agricultural scientists work faster, smarter, and with better data, including AI models, drone systems, and automation platforms. Where did you grow up? Was it an agriculture or urban environment? I grew up in Carman, Manitoba, a town of about 3,000 people that punches way above its weight as an agric

Grain Bin Emergencies Turn Deadly in Seconds, but Training Can Save Lives

Grain entrapment kills within seconds, but a decade-long partnership between CASA and G3 is helping farmers and first responders prevent fatal accidents.

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