Farmers continue to utilize the practice of exchanging machine work between farms, which has been and will continue to be a useful management tool. The “Farm Machine Work Rate for 2012 – 2013” summary report is now posted on Michigan State University Extension educator Dennis Stein’s website. The tool provides mid-Michigan farms a reference in establishing a value for machine work being exchanged between farms. Click here to visit Stein's site.

The Mosaic Company’s Nutrient Removal App was selected by AgProfessional editors as one of the 10 best and most innovative products introduced by the industry in 2012. Since its debut in January 2012, the Nutrient Removal App has been downloaded over 6,500 times by farmers and retailers.

At the annual American Forage and Grassland Council meeting, held Jan. 6-8 in Covington, Kentucky, Progressive Forage Grower Editor Lynn Olsen received the Merit Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made contributions to the forage or grassland industry in research, teaching, extension, production or industrial development.

To assist with the costs of traveling to the 2013 International Grassland Congress, the Forage and Grassland Foundation will make available limited funds ($2,000) for early career scientists (MS or PhD graduate student, post doc, and assistant professor within 6 months of hiring) and producers.

In 2012, there were at least 3,527 monthly weather records for heat, rain and snow broken by extreme weather events that hit communities throughout the U.S., according to an updated interactive extreme weather mapping tool and year-end review released by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The 2012 tally exceeds the 3,251 records smashed in 2011 and catalogues these record-breaking extreme events in all 50 states.

University of Missouri Extension has released a free app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices to help people easily identify weeds in the field, lawn or garden. Kevin Bradley, MU Extension weed scientist, unveiled the app at the MU Crop Management Conference, Dec. 19 in Columbia. The app, called ID Weeds, has information on more than 400 plant species that could be encountered as weeds in crop fields, pastures, lawns, gardens or aquatic areas in Missouri and surrounding states.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack designated 597 counties in 14 states as primary natural disaster areas due to drought and heat, making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans. These are the first disaster designations made by the USDA in 2013.

USDA scientists have released two mobile phone applications to make things easier for anyone who needs to adjust insecticide spray equipment.

The apps were developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Bradley Fritz and Wesley "Clint" Hoffmann at the agency's Areawide Pest Management Research Unit in College Station, Texas. The apps are designed to ensure that aerial and ground-based crews can hit targets and minimize pesticide drift by keying in specifics on the type of equipment and pesticide they are using.

Biological and digital advances in the agriculture industry have provided us with a baseline to discover innovations for the future. Looking ahead to the New Year, I’d like to touch on a few areas that are creating a buzz in the industry.