There’s an amazing report out that shows Kansas poised to be one of the top states in the country to benefit economically from the emerging Unmanned Aerial Vehicles industry. The study was done by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and looked specifically at the economic impact expected when U.S. UAVs are integrated into U.S. airspace beginning in 2015. I wasn’t surprised to see Kansas among the leaders in research into the technology of this industry…

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We’re learning the latest in  leading edge technology in two days of speakers and demonstrations at the Kansas Ag Research and Technology Association annual spring conference in Salina. I am always amazed at the strides that are made year to year in making better use of technology to make ag production more efficient and more profitable. The fascinating program of the afternoon was on telematics, the potential to use wireless communications and advanced sensors to close…

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On Wednesday, LightSquared, backed by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partner's hedge fund, gave a new proposal to the FCC that offered to tweak its towers so their signals would not interfere with GPS devices. Ahem, some GPS devices. Dale Leibach, spokesman for the Coalition to Save Our GPS said the offer was a positive step toward reduced interference for some devices. The kicker, however: "It still leaves a huge gap because it does not claim to solve interference to high-precision…

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Oh, how fleeting is fame. The new Siemens Wind turbine factory in Hutchinson has started moving its first nacelles out of the plant. It issued a press release on May 5 that it was shipping by rail, which it logically and accurately pointed out is far more "green" than shipping by truck, given that the railroad can move a lot more freight for a lot less cost and a lot less fuel consumed. Now to the flip side. A day after lauding rail's more reasonable freight and greater ability to move…

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These days it seems like there's an announcement a day of U.S. companies being sold to buyers overseas. Granted, most of these are "international" companies with manufacturing, sales and distribution all over the world. But I was especially saddened to learn that an almost century-old Kansas company, Krause Corp. of Hutchinson, has a new, French owner. Granted, it probably won't make much difference in the day-to-day operations of the plant. The jobs will stay, the equipment will be…

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I admit it. I'm one of those geeky people who collect autographs. So, today at No-till on the Plains, when I got a chance to meet Steve Wozniak and collect his autograph, I couldn't resist. I stood in line with a couple hundred other people, all clutching something appropriate for autograph and waited my turn to say something to one of the inventors of the computer age as we know it. He was an enormously pleasant man who started the day's discussion with "no time limits for me, let's…

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I was in Great Bend today for an Agriculture Technology Day that offered a variety of booths and vendors of products that might help farmers improve their efficiency at tasks from planting to spraying to harvesting. The turnout was remarkable, especially considering that the temperature hit 100 degrees by noon. But hey, what better reason for a demonstration ride than than an air conditioned cab? The Expo ground buildings were HOT, but farmers still gathered to learn about social…

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One of my favorite things about farm shows is watching what people get excited about. For the last couple of days, I've been walking the show at Husker Harvest Days looking for who has what nifty new products. But I can't help stopping to see what has everybody's attention when I see a group gathered around one particular tent. GPS-guided anything gets attention, along with better grain drying and storage systems, and the latest in welding and cutting equipment. The crowds also…

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Kansas escaped enough of the ice storm that the annual winter No-Till on the Plains conference in Salina was packed on Tuesday and Wednesday, although many participants from other states no doubt made it to the conference before the worst of the weather hit on Monday and Tuesday.   As usual, it’s good to see the turnout of people willing to embrace new technology and farming methods to improve both productivity and the environment. And it was good to see so many farmers willing to share…

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