Dear Precision Agriculture community:
 
Greetings from Kansas State University. It has been a while since I last communicated with you in 2012 at the culmination of the 10th ICPA conference in Indianapolis, IN, USA, as I passed the Presidential gavel on to Dr. John Stafford, the then incoming President of the ISPA.
 
Our University and I are excited to be the host of the 16th International Conference of Precision Agriculture at Kansas State University in Manhattan KS, USA, July 21st-24th, 2024. We're looking forward to hosting all of you in our beautiful city of Manhattan, KS.
 
Here are a few logistical details that may assist you in preparation for the upcoming conference. Traveling to Manhattan is the easiest when you fly directly into our Manhattan airport (Airport code - MHK) which is served exclusively by American Airlines. For our international delegates, your connecting port of entry into the United States could be Chicago (Airport code - ORD) or Dallas-Fort Worth (Airport code - DFW), both ports of entries have non-stop flight services multiple times during the day to (MHK) Manhattan KS.
 
For delegates choosing other airlines may arrive at a nearby Kansas City airport (Airport code - MCI) that is served by all major airlines and their international partners. Please note that the Kansas City airport is about 2 hours (130 miles or ~200 km) away by car. You will need to make arrangements for a shuttle service from the airport to Manhattan, KS. These logistical details are available on our society website www.ispag.org/icpa/HotelTravel  listing multiple choices of Shuttle services and car rentals (such as AVIS, Alamo, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, etc.) It is advised to reserve your choice of service in advance, the sooner the better. Uber service is also available from the Kansas City Airport to Manhattan, KS
 
Though there are many hotels and motels in the proximity of the conference venue, we always encourage you to stay at the conference hotel (Hilton Garden Inn Manhattan, KS) as it assists us in meeting our contractual agreements with the hotel and conference center.
 
There are many exciting and innovative thematic sessions that are in store for you at the 16th ICPA conference. I want to draw your attention to five hands-on workshops that K-State faculty have put together for you. I encourage you to participate in those workshops www.ispag.org/icpa/Workshops by registering online at our website registration portal www.ispag.org/registration.
 
I also want to encourage our presenters to seek nominations for the coveted Pierre C. Robert Young and Senior Scientist Awards as well as numerous Graduate Student Travel Awards. The deadline is fast approaching April 16th, 2024 www.ispag.org/icpa/Awards.
 
As always, should you need assistance with topics related to the conference or logistics, etc., please drop us a note at email: info@ispag.org. Looking forward to meeting and greeting each one of you at the conference in July.
 
Prof. Raj Khosla
Founder & Founding President
International Society of Precision Agriculture
 
Professor of Precision Agriculture and Head of Agronomy Department
Kansas State University www.agronomy.k-state.edu/about/department-head/khosla-raj/

By Japan's ISPA Country Representative, Dr. Eiji Morimoto (morimoto@gold.kobe-u.ac.jp)

In a stride towards modernizing agriculture, Japan is actively pursuing precision farming initiatives. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has taken the lead in fostering the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Through subsidies extended to agricultural machinery manufacturers and start-ups, MAFF aims to address challenges in cultivation management and promote automation with IoT.

Kobe University stands at the forefront of this technological revolution, steering its focus towards farmer-centric precision agriculture. Embracing the philosophy of on-farm experimentation, the university is making significant strides in 

The interest and excitement about the upcoming 16th ICPA Conference (www.ispag.org/icpa) scheduled for this coming 21-24 July 2024 in Manhattan, Kansas is huge. Precision Agriculture (PA) practitioners, researchers, students, the private industry, and professionals from government agencies have shown interest in the conference by submitting over 450 abstracts to the conference program.  The 16th ICPA organizing committee accepted over 320 abstracts for the Oral Program and over 120 abstracts have been accepted to the Poster Program.  Did you accidentally miss the abstract deadline?  The conference organizers will continue to review poster abstracts submitted before 15 May.  Submit your poster abstract here: www.ispag.org/abstracts

The 16th ICPA program will cover a wide range of PA topics.  Among the most popular abstract topics are Proximal and Remote Sensing of Soils and Crops (including Phenotyping) with 60 abstracts, and Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, with 48 abstracts. Other topics with a high number of submissions include In-Season Nitrogen Management, Drivers and Barriers to Adoption of PA Technologies or Digital Agriculture, On-Farm Experimentation with Site-Specific Technologies, Precision Agriculture for Sustainability and Environmental Protection, Robotics and Automation with Row and Horticultural Crops, and Drone Spraying (Figure 1).  For a full list of conference topics and to see the general program outline, please visit: www.ispag.org/icpa/Program/Outline. 

 

Figure 1. Most popular abstract topics submitted to the 16th ICPA Conference.
 
The 16th ICPA will be a truly global event with abstract submissions from 46 countries.  We will have representation from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

In addition to the Oral and Poster Sessions, on Monday 22 July, the International Symposium on Robotics and Automation will run concurrently with the 16th ICPA. The Symposium speakers represent experts from academia, industry, and stakeholder groups from the USA and Europe.  To learn more about the Symposium, please visit: www.ispag.org/Events/R_A_Symposium/Speakers.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get an update on Precision Agriculture applications around the world. If you work on Robotics and Automation, we are especially interested in seeing your poster abstract.  Please submit your abstract by 15 May.  Register to attend the conference now at www.ispag.org/ICPA/RegistrationLanding.
 

 

See the ISPA website for a complete list of events.

Do you have an event that would be of interest to our members? Send us an email to let us know.

• Open Rank Faculty - Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture - Director, University of Georgia
• Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Farming Systems Agronomy
• Tenure Track Assistant Professor in soil spectroscopy at Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University
• Senior Lecturer/ Lecturer of Digital Pasture Production
• Ph.D. Graduate Assistantship Position - University of Kentucky
• Tenure-track Assistant Professor - Artificial Intelligence in Agricultural and Forestry Informatics University of Tennessee
• Precision Agriculture Cohort Hiring Initiative, including the Position of Endowed Chair

Do you have a precision ag event, project, or news article that our members would be interested in? Please let us know. We post events, job opportunities, and news from members from around the globe. Email info@ispag.org or use the handy online form to submit your contribution. 

Be sure to follow ISPA on Twitter and LinkedIn to remain up to date with what the society has to offer.  If you're posting about precision agriculture and would like to reach our international community, please add #ispag to your post.