Brash Ag

In this episode the co-hosts brave the slightly noisy and very chilly terrace at the Farmers Club in London to record this dig deep into Precision Farming. Kit and Ray explore the definition of precision farming, their own experiences working on technologies enabling precision farming and how big data and AI tech is starting to become a part of the precision farming picture.

Official ISPA Precision Ag definition: https://www.ispag.org/about/definition

In this chewing the cud episode the co-hosts chat with Professor Penny Atkins, CEO of IFEAA. Penny explains what it was like starting out as an engineer at Jaguar Landrover working on the V6 power plant for the S Type. Penny also gives some insights on her journey up through the ranks at Ricardo to become Head of Technology Strategy and how this role helped her think about engineering in a wider context and ultimately lead on to her work on the abatement of fugitive greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. Penny gives a fascinating insight into the technologies being deployed on farms to capture fugitive emissions and how this stacks up as a business case.

IFEAA website: https://www.ifeaa.com/

Methane Hub website: https://www.methanehub.co.uk/

Contact the pod: [email protected]

In this news feed episode the pair have a busy docket of news to discuss; from the ongoing legal dispute between TAFE and Agco, new developments in robotic tractors from Duetz, how starlink could be set to reshape farming as we know it, Muddy Machine’s recent acquisition of the liquidated assets of Fox robotics and finally a Brash Ag scoop on the latest weed control tech from Farmdroid…This is a new episode not to be missed!

Ray’s Starlink post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/flynt-technology_the-recent-announcement-of-john-deere-tractors-activity-7153132162718810112-XE48?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

In this news feed episode Kit gives his report from the day and shares some of the conversations he had with fellow attendees. The co-hosts discuss their personal feelings and emotions regarding the proposed tax changes that sparked the rally and discuss how investment in new technology and agricultural engineers could be affected in the future.

In this cash cow episode Ray and Kit talk about the origins of data gathering in farming and how simple statistical analysis of data has evolved into the processing of vast amounts of information from farms into insights and data driven decisions making. The pair discuss if there is such a thing as a data utopia and whether farmers are the only beneficiaries from the data captured on farms. Finally the pair grapple with the question of whether the promise of big data has lived up to the reality and what obstacles still stand between farmers, data and better decision making.

[email protected]

Code of conduct for Ag Data: https://fefac.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/eu_code_of_conduct_on_agricultural_data_sharing-1.pdf

Ray’s LinkedIn article: “The Farm Data Value Paradox” - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/farm-data-value-paradox-raymond-king-ceng-miagre-wxwje/?trackingId=T9WYn%2BFESNOs0R40D2nwcg%3D%3D making.

This news feed episode finds the pair fresh off the back of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers 2024 Landwards conference. With the topic of “What we want from agricultural engineers?” and a range of insightful speakers from across the agriculture and food supply chain, Ray and Kit have plenty to digest and discuss while considering where engineers fit into the food production puzzle. The co-hosts explore the opportunities that exist for engineers to be part of solving the big challenges facing the farming and food sector and how engineers can have a seat at the table in discussions at all levels.

Brash Ag now has an email address:

[email protected]

For any questions, suggestions or ideas for episodes, feel free to get in touch.

https://iagre.org/conference-2024

In this news feed episode the Co-hosts talk about the recent agreement between Kubota and Agrointelli and what it means for the two companies and the agtech ecosystem as a whole. The pair also give some thoughts on the impact of the recent UK budget and what implications the various changes to taxes and spending might have for farmers, innovators and agricultural engineers.

Kubota Automation Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoddIBMbNSQ

BBC News on UK Budget and agriculture: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ml5zm9lz5o

UK Budget technology breakdown: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366614651/Autumn-Budget-2024-Chancellor-emphasises-importance-of-tech-for-UK-growth

Kubota and Robotti agreement: https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/field-robots/kubota-to-sell-danish-robotti-field-robot/

Agrointelli website: https://agrointelli.com/

Kubota website: https://www.kubota-eu.com/

In this first ever interview episode the Co-hosts welcome Callum Chalmers to the Podcast to hear more about his background, the business of Farmscan Ag and its origins. Ray and Kit also get Callums' take on the future of agricultural technology and the opportunities he sees starting to appear in agriculture for autonomy and robotics. Callum also shares his experiences about starting and running a business and why the UK was so attractive as a home for him and FarmScanAg.

Farmscan Ag website: https://farmscanag.co.uk/

FT Article - GPS Jamming and spoofing: https://www.ft.com/content/be9393db-cd63-4141-a4c8-c16b4fe1b6b0

In this digging deep episode the Co-hosts try not to lose their way while meandering through the topic of navigation in agriculture. Kit explains how GPS works, the reason that accurate navigation is so important and how tractors are now able to get such repeatable results while working in a field. The pair explore the important distinction between navigation and localisation. Ray explains the history of GPS and its origins in the space race of the 1960s as well as asking if perhaps tractors were a huge step backwards for autonomy in agriculture.

Horse vs Car and levels of autonomy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1xZUpfAoIZM

Year one of HFH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJVtCgM6KwI

In this news feed episode the co-hosts talk about recent developments in the ongoing legal battle between AGCO and TAFE. Kit explains some of the history between the two companies and talks about some of his personal experiences working with TAFE. Ray explains some of the ongoing legal battle and what it might mean for each of the firms. The pair also talk about the recent layoffs at JCB and what this might tell us about the ag sector.