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A6 | Thursday, March 5, 2020 AGRI-VIEW.COM CNEWS

TechnologyFrom A1

recognition, according to the company.

Having analyzed tens of thousands of images of dif-ferent weeds, the machine has learned to distinguish them from crops. It can then spot-spray weeds with her-bicides. The sprayer could possibly be commercialized for the 2021 growing season, Vogt said.

The sprayer could be a game-changer in the crop-protection business, he said. It could offer farm-ers as much as a 90 percent reduction in chemical use and allow chemicals to be spot-applied at full rates. That could be especially valuable in treating certain herbicide-resistant weeds such as Palmer amaranth. Because weeds would re-ceive spot treatments rather than broadcast ap-plications, he said, biodiesel could potentially be used as

a weed killer.“Technology opens your

head to new ideas,” he said.Robots – small may be-

come “big.” New ideas were in abundance at AgriTech-nica, the international ag-ricultural-machinery show held in November in Ger-many. Vogt estimated there were about 20 different types of robots on display. The big news is that many of them are small. Part of the reason is that smaller robots create less soil compaction.

The European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development has as one of its goals development of small mobile robots. One reason is to optimize plant-spe-cific precision farming. That leads to reduced input of seeds, fertilizer and pes-ticides as well as increased yields, it states. Another is to reduce soil compaction as well as the energy con-sumption of heavy ma-chinery. A third reason is to develop easy-to-operate systems, anticipating chal-

lenges arising from climate change and a shortage of skilled labor.

Blockchain technology could be increasingly used in agriculture. Blockchain enables multiple computers to store identical transac-tion records. It could change the way food is shipped and tracked through the supply chain.

Visit youtube.com and search for K47JoApSV5o to watch a video about IBM’s Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture. Visit you-tube.com and search for XH-EFtTa6IU to watch a video about the See and Spray precision weed-con-trol machine. Visit blue-rivertechnology.com and agritechnica.com for more information.

Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff re-porter for agri-View based in Wisconsin.

reduced-energy handling. He teaches cattle handlers to manage their own energy levels relative to cattle.

Höglund also has sug-gested training heifers early. That’s so the animals become comfortable with people working in their blind zone. Cattle han-dlers can help train cattle to accept “facing away” from people as they do in a milking parlor. Those re-duced-energy techniques can help reduce cow stress and lead to improved milk production.

The addition of a teat-prep system in July 2017

significantly reduced so-matic-cell count at Maple Ridge, Forrest said. The movement of the brush units and automatic dis-pensing of prep solution provides more consistency from cow to cow than what humans could provide. That results in cleaner teats that are less prone to mastitis, according to GEA, maker of the FutureCow system used at Maple Ridge.

Good-quality forage is another key to overall milk quality, Forrest said. Most of the feed the cows receive is homegrown. The crop-ping operation at Maple Ridge involves 3,800 acres, most of which is planted to corn for silage. Also planted are alfalfa and grasses for

forage, and soybeans. About 240 acres are planted to corn for grain. Eighty acres are planted to winter wheat and another 80 acres are planted to barley or spring wheat. Feed is tested a cou-ple of times annually to en-

sure it doesn’t contain any mycotoxins.

Forrest also credits ge-nomic testing for improve-ments in cow health and milk components. The Maple Ridge team has been using genomic testing for the past three years to help select cows that have the greatest production poten-tial.

Earning the platinum dairy-quality award from the National Mastitis Council means a great deal to Forrest.

“In the midst of so many

negative social-media posts and general public distrust on what we do and how we do it, this recognition is very important,” he said. “We’re just one of many dairy farms around the country that are doing an incredible job with milk quality. This story can’t be told enough. And on our own dairy it re-ally helps validate the good

work our team is doing.”Visit www.facebook.

com/mapleridgedairy for more information.

Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff re-porter for agri-View based in Wisconsin.

HonorFrom A1

FILE PHOTO

Maple ridge dairy near stratford, Wisconsin, hosts in 2016 an agricultural community Engagement meeting. Maple ridge farm-partners are from left Phil hein, his son Ken hein and Brian Forrest. The event was sponsored by Professional dairy Producers of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Towns association and the Wisconsin counties association.

CONTRIBUTED

Jami schultze, herd manager at Maple ridge dairy, performs a milk culture.

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