Tailgate Talk - March 2018

What A Day: Asleep at the Wheel

Working long hours with autosteer can put a farmer in a trance. This driver fell asleep while applying anhydrous.

If you’ve had one of those days—or captured someone else’s—we’d love to share it with our readers. Email images to whataday@farmjournal.com or hashtag #FJWhatADay on Twitter and Instagram.

Stat Rack

The Fertilizer Institute released its 2017 State of the Fertilizer Industry report, which represents 94% of U.S. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium production and 33% of the retail sector.

1.4 billion gallons of water was reclaimed by the industry

461.9 billion gallons of treated  wastewater was recycled

111 million GJ of waste heat was reused, which is enough energy to power 216,635 homes for a year

25% of greenhouse gas emissions were captured and reused, which is equal to taking 2 million cars off the road for a year

75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through investments in new railcars

$1 million invested in research by the fertilizer industry to develop better management practices

Source: The Fertilizer Institute

The Year of the Tractor

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will mark 2018 as the Year of the Tractor with two new displays featured in the museum’s American Enterprise exhibit.

A 1918 Waterloo Boy and historic information and ads celebrate the 100th anniversary of Deere and Company’s entry into the tractor market with the purchase of Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company.

The precision farming display tells the story of how farmers have adopted technology. Key objects include a GPS receiver, a crop yield monitor from 1996, a cow neck tag with a Radio Frequency Identification transponder from the 1980s and a grain sickle used to harvest crops from around the 1900s. The display also includes four stories of farmers engaged in precision farming.

For more details about the displays, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu.