PULLMAN, Wash. — Three hands-on workshops and a two-day conference on precision agriculture will be held in the Tri-Cities, Jan. 29-31.
“This conference provides the broadest, most comprehensive information about precision farming in the western United States,” says Washington State University’s Fran Pierce. “Participants will learn how to maximize profitability by matching crop production practices and inputs to the needs of each unique field area,” he said.
Precision agriculture — managing small areas of large fields based on intensive information collected from them — is about 10 years old, although some elements of the technology have existed much longer.
Pierce, director of the WSU Center for Precision Agricultural Systems, said this new, information-intensive agriculture involves computers, satellites and a variety of related technologies that allow farmers to micro- manage their land and crops.
Conference talks will cover the latest information from research, including updates on practices ranging from water management to pest control. Speakers will include both scientists who are doing the research and farmers who put the new technology to work.
Workshops will be held 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, in morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Farmers may sign up for one or more sessions on using information from global positioning satellites and geographic information systems, commonly called GPS and GIS.
All workshops will be held at WSU Tri-Cities, in Richland. The conference will be at the DoubleTree, in Pasco.
Early registration closes Jan. 10, after which costs increase.
Complete details and registration information are available from WSU Conferences and Professional Programs. Call 1-800-942-4978.
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