Six States Chosen for UAV Test Sites

Dec 30, 2013

The Federal Aviation Administration has unveiled the six states that will host UAV (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles) testing sites in 2014. The UAV test sites will be located in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas, and Virginia, and are expected to not only create jobs in the states, but provide important research information prior to a full opening of U.S airspace in all 50 states by 2015.

UAV’s have increased in popularity across the agriculture sector, mainly with farmers scouting their fields for crop damage or loss due to weather and other natural conditions. Some UAV’s are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allows the operator to see nutrient and moisture conditions that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye.

With announcements from companies like Amazon who would like to see UAV’s used for home delivery purposes, the little drones may be an everyday occurrence in the sky above.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.