A recap of this year's conference, held earlier this week, is provided below by Brandon Hunnicutt (@cornfedfarmer on Twitter):
The 2010 Nebraska Agriculture Technology Association (NeATA) conference took place Jan. 27 and 28 in Grand Island. This was the 10th annual conference and was a very informative and successful conference.
From its first year in Kearney to its current place in Grand Island, it has been a place for farmers, industry, consultants and others to come together to learn about cutting edge technology and what others are doing on their farms. From the beginnings of yield mapping data to ag robots to social media there as been a multitude of ideas and technologies presented. Plus, there are always the "easy" discussions of such things as farm bills.
This year was no different. From the first night presentations of Precision Nutrient Management on Site-Specific Management Zones the conference was started out making people think or re-think how they develop soil sampling practices. Also, learning about the precision ag being used in Australia, it is a truly international affair.
One of the most interesting session was a panel discussion on Broadband Internet titled "Broadband: Who needs it?" What looked like an easy discussions on the merits of high speed internet, turned to a discussion on the lack of broadband service in Nebraska and what that may mean for the future of, not only ag, but rural Nebraska as a whole.
From discussions of wireless networks for irrigation management to mapping evapotranspiration to a session on Excel there was definitely something for all ranges of those on the ag technology spectrum. Plus, there was time on social media and raising up more advocates for ag.
This conference has turned into a great collaboration between ag and University of Nebraska extension that we hope will continue in the future. For more information become of fan of Nebraska Agriculture Technology Association on Facebook or go to neata.org.
From its first year in Kearney to its current place in Grand Island, it has been a place for farmers, industry, consultants and others to come together to learn about cutting edge technology and what others are doing on their farms. From the beginnings of yield mapping data to ag robots to social media there as been a multitude of ideas and technologies presented. Plus, there are always the "easy" discussions of such things as farm bills.
This year was no different. From the first night presentations of Precision Nutrient Management on Site-Specific Management Zones the conference was started out making people think or re-think how they develop soil sampling practices. Also, learning about the precision ag being used in Australia, it is a truly international affair.
One of the most interesting session was a panel discussion on Broadband Internet titled "Broadband: Who needs it?" What looked like an easy discussions on the merits of high speed internet, turned to a discussion on the lack of broadband service in Nebraska and what that may mean for the future of, not only ag, but rural Nebraska as a whole.
From discussions of wireless networks for irrigation management to mapping evapotranspiration to a session on Excel there was definitely something for all ranges of those on the ag technology spectrum. Plus, there was time on social media and raising up more advocates for ag.
This conference has turned into a great collaboration between ag and University of Nebraska extension that we hope will continue in the future. For more information become of fan of Nebraska Agriculture Technology Association on Facebook or go to neata.org.