Spray Drone Demonstration for Pest Management in Vegetable and Field Crops

Aug 07, 2024

By Salta Mambetova and Teresa Crook et.al

The Drone Demonstration for Pest Management Meeting on Aug. 27, 2024, is for vegetable and field crop growers who are interested in learning about using drones for pesticide and fertilizer application, plus seeding cover crops. This evening event will start with the drone demonstration showing the effects of flight settings on productivity and methods of evaluating spray patterns and coverage, followed by a presentation about the rules and regulations for drone usage in pest management by Mike Reinke of Michigan State University Extension. In addition to pesticide application, Reinke will discuss using drones for fertilizer application and seeding cover crops. Teresa Crook with Michigan State University Extension will explain the Endangered Species Act impact for pesticide labels and introduce Bulletins Live! Two. Lastly, Salta Mambetova with Michigan State University Extension will provide a vegetable pest update and integrated pest management recommendations.

Drone service companies are invited to provide information about their services area. Growers will have an opportunity to discuss different topics related to the drone application.

Two credits for pesticide application certification are available in the following categories: 1A, 1B, AE, Comm CORE, Priv CORE.

The Drone Demonstration for Pest Management Meeting will be held at Northern Farm Market LLC at 74865 Van Dyke Rd, Bruce Twp. MI, 48065 on Aug. 27 from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Registration begins at 4:30 p.m. with the drone demonstration beginning at 5 p.m. The cost is free. Refreshments and water will be provided. Please register online to ensure space and refreshments.

Source : msu.edu

Video: How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Across the open plains of North Dakota and South Dakota, sunflower fields turn the American landscape into a sea of gold. In this farming documentary, we go inside modern sunflower farming to see how farmers plant, grow, harvest, clean, dry, process, and transform sunflower seeds into valuable products used every day.

In 2024, American farmers harvested about 1.15 billion pounds of sunflowers. This video follows the full journey from warm spring planting to combine harvesting, seed cleaning, storage, oil extraction, refining, roasting, packaging, and animal feed production.

You will see how sunflower seeds are processed into cooking oil, roasted snacks, bakery ingredients, birdseed, livestock feed, and useful byproducts. From golden fields to modern processing plants, this is the story of how a beautiful flower becomes one of America’s important oilseed crops.

Watch until the end to discover how sunflower farming connects farmers, machines, factories, food production, and sustainable agriculture.