Expo Field Day showcases farm technology

MOULTRIE — The sun was shining Thursday on a large bounty of crops, from corn to cotton and even a large field of sunflowers turned in synchronization toward the east, at the 44th annual Farm Field Day at Sunbelt Ag Expo here.

The annual tour of the 600-acre Darrell Williams Research Farm gives farmers a look at what’s new in the agriculture world. The crops on the site are cared for and serve as a research source for ag-related companies and the University of Georgia.

In the fall, visitors get to see farm equipment out in the field, harvesting during the Sunbelt Ag Expo, which is held each October.

Among the new technology on display Thursday was a product making its debut at Field Day, although it couldn’t exactly be seen.

Standing underneath a portable sun shade, Tyler Carson was available to discuss the relatively new nanotechnology being applied to agriculture by Aqua-Yield. The product uses latest technology to improve the effects of other farm chemicals.

“Nano is not new,” Carson, a regional manager for the company, said. “It’s used in batteries. It’s used in cellphones. It’s used in pharmaceuticals. In agriculture, it’s very, very new.”

In a nutshell, Carson said the products help plants use existing products more effectively.

“It increases the uptake of the product in the plant,” he said. “It basically makes that product work better for your crop. Like 3M, we don’t make the crop-protection product, we make it better. What we do is add it to the crop inputs, whether it’s fertilizer or a micronutrient or crop-protection product.

“There are a lot of different chemistries to get into a plant, and this assists that. This is some new and exciting technology.”

Weather-monitoring devices are certainly nothing new, but at the Simplot demonstration area the company was providing information on how farmers can view weather conditions and view the soil moisture in their fields on a cellphone.

The Simplot SmartFarm system is available for a rental fee, which can be an advantage because it will be replaced if damaged by a weather event such as a lightning strike, Eli Hobbs, a SmartFarm digital sales specialist, said.

The moisture probe covers up to 164 acres, he added.

“The weather station covers 600 acres, or one square mile,” Hobbs said.

Although Thursday was a warm and muggy day, attendance was steady for the 3 1/2 hours the fields were open to traffic, Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said.

Driving through and seeing the various crops gives farmers the opportunity to see the latest seed varieties up and growing in the field, he said.

“Everything was great,” Blalock said. “Good weather, good crowds, good presenters.”

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Staff Photos: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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File Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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