Matt Hopkins's Page

Note: I recently researched and compiled a list of the best mobile ag apps for 2012, a few of which can be directly applied to precision agriculture. Here is the first part of the article, with a link to read the entire post on CropLife.com.

Ag retailers — and agriculture professionals at large — are starving for mobile agriculture apps that can help them do their jobs better. They can't get enough them.

I can certainly relate. I recently attended the National…

Several precision agriculture technologies were featured in the recent article "12 Most Advanced Agricultural Technologies" by Brian Scott. Autosteer, swath control, VRT and telematics were a handful of some of the precision ag technologies that made the cut. Take a look at for yourself, and let me know if you think any are missing or some that shouldn't have been included. Follow:…

We recently conducted a survey of ag retailers on their use of mobile technology (smartphones and tablets). One of the questions we asked retailers is what type of ag-related apps they use for business purposes. Not surprisingly, weather was the clear-cut No. 1 choice of app, with 80% of respondents indicating they use a weather-related app.

Fourth on the list (after agronomic and commodity pricing) of ag-related apps used was precision agriculture. Nearly 20% of ag retailers said…

New technology is often surrounded by hype and misperceptions that make it harder for us to use effortlessly. I know this from experience. I've spent the better part of 2011 helping our business team implement a new Web content management system. The entire process has been so long and drawn out it has tested my patience and mettle, but the vast majority of it has been rewarding. Ultimately, we hope to provide you with richer, more relevant content on our Web sites, while at the same time…