AI Crop Pest Detection, Virtual Fencing & Christmas Tree Prices | Daily Farm Brief

Good morning, Farm Nation, and hello, Truck City. This is FarmTales Unplugged Daily Farm Brief for Friday, September 25th. I'm Rick Cordonova. This morning, Christmas tree growers have some surprisingly good news heading into the holiday season. Artificial intelligence is now listening for bugs in your crops. Cattle are being controlled by fences that technically don't exist. The old farmer's almanac has given us one of the strangest weather words I've ever heard. And we're also going back to a day when somebody baked a 3,699-pound pumpkin pie. And a mountain goat in Montana apparently decided the mountains were getting boring and headed to church. So grab your coffee, fire up whatever you're driving, and let's find out what happened while you were busy actually working. Very quick market wash this morning. There's nothing new. When the USDA gives us fresh numbers, we'll give them to you. Here's an egg story you probably weren't expecting in September. Christmas tree growers are already looking toward the holidays, and the early word is pretty good. A new industry survey says growers expect plenty of real trees and relatively stable wholesale prices this year. In fact, 91% of growers surveyed said they don't plan to raise wholesale prices, and some may actually lower them. So apparently, we finally found something in America that might not cost more this year. Don't tell anybody, they'll ruin it. And yes, Christmas trees are farming. You plant them, you fertilize them, you fight bugs and weather, you wait years, and then somebody walks up and says, Do you have one that's a little more symmetrical? That's farming. Time for the technology moment, or as I like to call it, we're science. Researchers are developing artificial intelligence systems that can identify crop pests by listening to them. The bugs make noise, the computer listens, and the computer tries to figure out who's eating your crop. We used to walk the field and look for bugs. Now, apparently, the field needs microphones. The idea is pretty simple. Catch pest activity earlier, and growers may be able to deal with a small problem before it becomes a big problem. Researchers say outdoor noise is one of the challenges because apparently even artificial intelligence has trouble hearing bugs over a tractor. Welcome to farming. And while computers are listening to insects, cattle are learning to respect fences that aren't actually there. Virtual fencing uses GPS collars on cattle. The rancher draws a boundary electronically. When the cow approaches it, the collar gives an audio warning. Keep going, depending on the system, the animal can get a brief electrical pulse. Or shock. Basically, your cow now has GPS and better navigation than half the people on the freeway. Recent Nebraska research found virtual fencing kept cattle where they were supposed to be with containment above 99%. For ranchers, that can mean less temporary fencing, fewer posts, less wire, and easier pasture rotation. And somewhere right now, there's an old rancher staring at one of these collars thinking, I've spent 40 years fixing fences, and now you invent this. Time for the old farmer's almanac. Today's word, cornskaceous. Yes, cornscaceous. That sounds like something your doctor tells you they found on an X-ray. The almanac says it's an old term for warm, damp air, the kind of weather once considered good for growing corn. So today, don't say humans say it's a little cornstaceous out there. Then walk away. Don't explain yourself. You'll immediately sound smarter than anyone else at the coffee shop. And now, this day in history. On this day, September 25th, 2010, somebody in Ohio apparently decided a regular pumpkin pie just wasn't getting the job done. At the new Bremen Pumpkin Fest, growers made a pumpkin pie weighing 3,699 pounds. 20 feet across. It took more than 1,200 pounds of pumpkin, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, and 2,796 eggs. That's not dessert, that's infrastructure. Imagine being the guy sent to the store. What do we need? Couple thousand eggs. Anything else? Yeah, bring the truck. And now it's time for you don't hear that every day. A young mountain goat wandered into Bozeman, Montana and ended up hanging around a church. Wildlife officials eventually came out, safely loaded him up, and returned him to the Gallatin Range. Officials say young male mountain goats sometimes wander while looking for a new home range. Apparently, this one checked Bozeman property prices and went straight back up to the mountain. Smart goat. And I have to admit, if a mountain goat walks into church on his own, I'm not asking any questions. That goat knows something we don't. Today, instead of a joke of the day, we're gonna rattle off some funny farmer sayings. One, worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it don't get you nowhere near the barn. Two, you can't teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig. Three, never kick a cow chip on a hot day. Four, a fence should be horse high, pig tight, and bull strong, just like a good marriage. 6. Never trust a goat with a clean shirt. 7. I've got two speeds now. Slow and someone fetch the pickup. 8. The older I get, the more I understand why cows stare into space. Oh, and I get that one. And that'll do it for Friday, September 25th. Christmas tree growers are heading towards the holidays with plenty of trees and relatively steady wholesale prices. AI is listening for crop pests. Cattle are being managed by fences nobody can see. The almanac taught us the word cornscaceous. Ohio reminded us that mankind apparently needed a 3,699-pound pumpkin. And a Montana mountain goat went to church before being escorted back to the mountains. If you're in the field, in the barn, behind the wheel, or hauling the stuff that keeps this country moving, thanks for spending a few minutes with me. We'd like to thank World TradeX, the future of food, for making this show possible. I'm Rick Portonova. This is FarmTale's unplugged daily farm brief. Have a safe Friday. We'll see you tomorrow morning.