MOU a significant milestone
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Lincoln University and Ballance Agri-Nutrients is being hailed as a significant milestone.
A Lincoln University IT graduate has developed an app that is making life much easier for staff carrying out fieldwork.
Agriseeds science manager Colin Eady says Tao Zhou's creation, which helps with data capture during field trials, has proven invaluable.
"The modular system Tao developed simplifies data capture process, saves time and reduces errors," says Eady.
While working towards his graduate diploma of software and IT, Zhou took on an internship at a plant breeding and research company. He says he came up with the idea for the app after talking to Agriseeds staff and monitoring their workflow.
"Seed data from the field used to be collected using paper and pen and keyed into a spreadsheet back at the office. After having some discussions with staff, we thought we would make things easier by developing an app," he says.
"The system is based on Microsoft Excel and runs on a tablet. It works by collecting data via a friendly, front-end interface, then the data is automatically transferred to Excel in standard format with error checking and validation. This makes it handy for preventing mistakes."
Eady says the internship finished in November, but Zhou continued to work at Agriseeds for a further three months to help troubleshoot any problems with the app.
"During this time, he established efficient electronic capture and transfer of data between the Agriseeds Quality Assurance and Breeding team. He also helped improve a previous Lincoln University/Agriseeds collaboration concerning seed image analysis."
"I'd like to continue advancing my career as an engineer in the IT industry. The knowledge and techniques I've learned from the Lincoln course have given me a lot of ideas, as well as a new vision," says Zhou.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.