Precision agriculture scholarship entries cover a variety of innovative concepts

It’s now up to farmers to determine the scholarship winners

Farms.com is delighted to announce that voting for the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Scholarship is open.  Farmers are invited to vote for the student submission for a precision agriculture idea that will have a positive impact on the environment and could be adopted by farmers!  

The theme for the 2020 scholarships was “environmental benefits of precision agriculture to protecting the planet”.  Entries included everything from phenomics to open bottom chicken coops and from using DIY technology to teaching artificial intelligence to identify and spray weeds.

“When we launched the scholarship contest, we believed combining students with cutting edge technology would lead to innovation,” says Graham Dyer, President and CEO of Farms.com.  “We were impressed by the quality of the submissions we received.”

A $2,000 USD scholarship is being awarded to a student in each of the following countries: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada.  Farmers can vote one time in each country between NOW and Oct. 23, 2020!  The Scholarship Winner from each country will speak at the upcoming Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference & Ag Technology Showcase on a panel to further explore their ideas.

Students submitted their ideas, via a social media video (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook), describing the student’s research/thesis or new idea regarding precision agriculture and its potential positive impact on the environment.   

The submissions were then judged by a panel of industry leaders, sponsors and Farms.com staff members.  The top three submissions in each country were determined by the judges, and now the winners will be determined by farmers industry leaders and experts voting for their top pick online.

The top three scholarship submission in the US are as follows:

• Phenomics & Animal Trait Measurement Utilizing Bio-imaging, submitted by Austin Brown studying at Penn State University in Animal Science.
• Sensor Based Nitrogen Management, submitted by Samantha Teten, studying at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in Mechanized Systems Management.
• Utilization of a remote-controlled vehicle powered by solar panels & batteries to help identify plant qualities, submitted by Peyman Nemat studying at Oklahoma State University in Biosystems and Agriculture Engineering.

Vote for your top US Scholarship Submission.

The top three scholarship submission in the United Kingdom are as follows:

• Can inter-row cultivation play a role in the future of sustainable weed control?”, submitted by Will Smith, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom.
• Whether weeds can be identified using a camera and then sprayed off, submitted by Tom Evans, Studying at Harper Adams University, for his M. Eng integrated Masters Degree in Agriculture Engineering.
• How to enable DIY technology to enable small and medium sized farmers, submitted by Tamisan Latherow, Studying at the University of Reading.

Vote for your top UK Scholarship Submission.

The top three scholarship submission in Canada are as follows:

• Nationwide Precision Agriculture Education Program for Farmers & Input Suppliers, submitted by Nicholas Bannon, studying at the University of Guelph for his BA Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics.
• Innovative Orchard Sprayer, submitted by Noah Weber, studying at Olds College for his Bachelor of Applied Science.
• Automated Open Bottom Chicken Coops, submitted by Jason Gharibo, studying at Western University for his Masters of Engineering Science.

Vote for your top Canadian Scholarship Submission.

“FCC AgExpert recognizes the importance of ensuring young people are engaged in the agriculture industry,” says Darcy Herauf, Director FCC AgExpert, and sponsor for the Canadian Scholarship.  “More importantly we need bright minds thinking about how agriculture intersects with technology.  AgExpert was excited to see the variety of Canadian scholarship entries that were submitted.  The passion from the submissions was inspiring and leads us to believe the future of agriculture is in good hands.”