Purdue highlights data-driven agriculture at Digital Ag Showcase

Agriculture technology experts at Purdue University will be discussing data-driven agriculture at the Digital Ag Showcase and providing demonstrations featuring practical applications and tools for farms.

The Sept. 8 event at the Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette, Indiana, will also include tours of campus research facilities focused on digital agriculture.

“The day will be packed with demonstrations and highlights the work happening at Purdue related to data-driven agriculture,” Dennis Buckmaster, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and dean’s fellow for digital agriculture, said in a news release. “You will be able to get your hands on new sensors, learn about free, practical tools for collecting and analyzing data, and network with researchers, Extension specialists and graduate students leading the way in applications of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), sensor deployment, decision-making and automation.”

Topics to be covered include:

• Using drones (UAVs) in row crops, including low-input, high-efficiency scouting.
• Demonstrations of Purdue’s field phenotyping capabilities.
• Introduction of GROW, a new web app for corn producers to monitor the physiological state of their corn fields.
• Replacing the “dashboard notebook” with digital field records.

Participants can take campus tours to visit with Purdue faculty in their research spaces, including the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building, Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences and the Ag Alumni Phenotyping Facility.

For those interested in private pesticide applicator (PARP) and commercial applicator credits, continuing certification hours will be offered in categories 1, 11, 14 and RT.  Purdue Extension specialists will offer a one-hour workshop providing UAV demonstrations of pest scouting, soil nutrient monitoring, herbicide applications, benefits of precision ag applications of chemicals, and anhydrous ammonia safety.

Lunch will be provided. Registration deadline is Sept. 1; visit purdue.ag/digitalagshowcase to register.