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USD Adds Flexibility to Hay, Graze and Chop Cover Crops Prevent Plant Acres

the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) announced that agricultural producers with crop insurance can hay, graze or chop cover crops on prevent plant acres for silage, haylage or baleage at any time and still receive 100% of the prevented planting payment. Previously, cover crops could only by hayed, grazed or chopped after Nov. 1 on prevent plant acres, or the prevented planting payment was reduced.

“We appreciate the flexibility that USDA-RMA and Acting RMA Administrator Flournoy have added for cover crops on prevent plant acres,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “Not only will this help mitigate drought impacts for feed for livestock, but will help encourage cover crop usage, which protects the soil from wind and water erosion.”

The decision allows flexibility for the 2021 crop year and makes the change permanent for future years.

Source : nd.gov

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Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

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Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.