Ag Connect Expo 2011 - Agriculture.com Community

AG CONNECT Expo streaming video wrap-up

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img_4d278340947b5_13636[1].jpg Throughout the 2011 AG CONNECT Expo, industry experts took to the podium at the Successful Farming Innovations Theater to discuss the major issues facing agriculture today. Weren't able to watch during the Expo? Click below to see wrap-up videos for each session.

Know your machinery parts?

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img_4d2b8171da073_13694[1].jpg The Ag Connect Expo, held January 8-10 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, featured leading agricultural machinery manufacturers from around the world. Exhibitors included the major, well-known brands, as well as a large complement of lesser known manufacturers who supply components for farm equipment.

Components on display are used in all major agricultural machinery. In the first photo of this slideshow, first look at a close-up view of the component. Guess its name and function, and maybe even the company that made it.

See the full slideshow

Staying safe on the farm

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The farm can be a dangerous place to work. There are potential threats to not just some of your senses, but things that can also endanger your life altogether.

Carolyn Sheridan, clinical director for the AgriSafe Network, spoke about some of these threats and the ways you can protect yourself from them with both specialized equipment and general awareness and behavior, on Sunday at AG CONNECT Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.

Check out this video to see some highlights of Sheridan's remarks

Talking Tier 4

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The introduction of a new series of “Tier 4” diesel engines, so designated as they comply with new EPA pollution standards, has farmers scrabbling to decipher such terms as SCR (selective catalytic reduction), DPF (diesel particulate filter) and DEF (diesel exhaust fluid).

AGCO’s John Rogers offers a brief explanation of the engine changes his company is introducing to meet this Tier regulations during the Ag Connect Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.

Read & see more on the new Tier 4 engines

Biofuels & world trade

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The biofuels industry and global trade are two hot topics at some of the meetings going on concurrent to the 2011 AG CONNECT Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, this week. Check out Successful Farming magazine Business Editor Dan Looker's coverage of the proceedings, including a presentation on the ethanol industry by General Wesley Clark.

An inside view of some big iron

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"One of the most viewed, exhibits on display at the Ag Connect Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, was a stripped-down Case IH Axial-Flow combine," says Successful Farming magazine Senior Machinery Editor Dave Mowitz. "The unique exhibit provided show goers a special chance to peer inside the guts of this Case IH harvester."

See Dave's slideshow including some up-close views of this unique display at this year's Expo

'A gathering place for the industry'

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Sara Truesdale Mooney has had a goal in her 2+ years as show director for AG CONNECT Expo. And, in its second year in 2011, she's excited about how far the event has come toward reaching that goal.

"Our objective is to create a gathering place for the industry. That's always been our objective, and with this year's event, we're taking another step toward that," Mooney said Saturday morning.

VIDEO: A U.S. trade specialist talks about the show's global presence

One of the biggest surprises in this year's Expo, she said, is the number of purchase decisions she's seeing farmers making on the trade show floor. Though unexpected initially, Mooney said it's been a sign of the overall good health of the ag sector, and anecdotally, it's a consistent theme on the trade show floor.

"Whatever the event, it's affected by the economic condition of the industry. With the ag industry leading the economic recovery, producers are in a place to come and see products, and talk to people who design the equipment," she said. "Producers are coming to the show in a good place."

Mooney added she spoke with a farmer from Wyoming at the show on Friday who said he "spent 5 hours on the [trade show] floor and made 'several' purchase decisions."

Getting smart on smartphones

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Neil Mylet spends 8 hours a day working on his central Indiana farm. Then, he spends another 10 hours a day working his "other job" as founder of LoadOut Technologies, a "high-tech agricultural startup." When it comes to smartphones and similar digital technology on the farm, he knows his stuff.

Mylet spoke Saturday morning at AG CONNECT Expo. A packed room of farmers, crop advisers and machinery dealer representatives asked a lot of questions about the latest smartphone technology, what ag-specific tools are out there and how all their data that's passing through smartphones today and in the future will stay private and protected. On the latter point, Mylet said those reputable application developers out there are today taking data protection and privacy very seriously for more than one reason.

"Data is extremely valuable. With data colleciton and management comes the opportunity for developers to create some powerful applications," Mylet said. "Companies who deal in mobile app development have got to respect privacy."

Slideshow: AG CONNECT guessing game

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The AG CONNECT Expo is taking place this week, January 8-10, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. On Friday at a Preview Day media and other attendees were able to view the latest offerings from farm equipment companies worldwide. New product releases at the show ranged from the latest in harvesting equipment, the big iron, to the sophisticated smaller things, precision ag technology.

In the first photo, see a close-up view of the machine to view a special feature. Guess which company made it, and see how many you can get right. In this pic, who’s featuring a new track system?

See the slideshow

Precision ag pointers

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Precision ag technology is far from one-size-fits all. Some farmers are better able to adopt new technology tools on their farms than others, and understanding your comfort level with new technology is key to being able to successfully implement it.

Just getting started? Doug Applegate, who farms in western Iowa, says the first and most important step is determining whether you "want to" do it or not, then have the patience to follow through with tools that can sometimes have a frustratingly steep learning curve.

Video: Getting good help & knowing what you want

But, adopting precision ag is often more about the people than it is the technology, Persia, Iowa, farmer Bill Darrington says. Establishing a good relationship with support people in your area is the most important thing to the continued successful utilization of technology tools.

See more from the AG CONNECT Expo precision ag session