The high-tech nature of agriculture takes center stage at the Kansas Agricultural Technologies Conference, this year to be held Jan. 23-24 in Salina at the Ambassador Hotel and Conference Center at 1616 W. Crawford St.

The conference is co-sponsored by K-State Research and Extension and the Kansas Agricultural Research and Technology Association, whose members are producers, university researchers and industry professionals focused on learning about agricultural production and technological and informational changes on today’s farms.

The Thursday, Jan. 23 session begins with registration and morning refreshments at 8 a.m., and the program starting at 8:45 a.m. The first day ends with the KARTA annual business meeting at 4:45 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m., followed by a presentation and evening discussion among attendees on, “Big Data – Farm Data Participation and Privacy from the Farm Gate to Open Source.” Terry Griffin of Griffin Consulting will give the presentation. Day two, Friday, Jan. 24 begins with morning refreshments at 8 a.m. and the program at 8:30 a.m.

Presentations by producers, researchers and industry professionals will include:

· Where Data Meets the Dirt: Implementing Precision Ag on a Diversified South Dakota Farm.

· Making the Most of Precision Ag: On-Farm Experiments.

· Machinery Costs & Efficiencies: What are the Driving Factors?

· Using Sensors to Detect Crop Stress from Aerial & Ground Based Platforms.

· Boom Pressure & Flow: What’s Really Happening with our Rate Controllers?

· Ag Drones: sUAS Dreams & Reality.

· Opportunities for On-Farm Research & Collaboration.

In addition, KARTA farmer-members will give presentations about research conducted on their farms.

Commercial exhibits of sponsoring vendors will be available to attendees throughout the conference.