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CapitalPress.com
February 5, 2016
People & Places
Computer engineer returns to roots
Quinn Jackson
puts high-tech
equipment to work
to help farmers
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
Quinn Jackson
Company: Land View Inc.
Position: IT manager and
software developer
Age: 34
Home: Burley, Idaho
Education: Bachelor of
science degree in computer
engineering, Utah State
University, 2009
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Quinn Jackson, information technology manager and software developer at Land View Inc. near Ru-
pert, Idaho, sets up a drone in his work area. Jackson grew up on a farm and is applying his computer
expertise to help farmers monitor and improve their crops.
to other companies, he said.
He was also the lead in
creating the company’s iView
software to facilitate remote
sensing of cropland, a service
the company provides to its
customers.
The remote sensing is cur-
rently done from a ixed-wing
airplane and allows Jackson
and his team to identify stress-
es in crops using an infrared
camera and a visible color
camera. The software is an
iPad application that allows
Land View to input informa-
tion so producers can gain
better insight into what’s go-
ing on in their ields, he said.
In the near future the com-
pany will use unmanned aeri-
al vehicles for remote sensing,
he said.
Unmanned aerial vehicles
— popularly called drones or
UAVs — will make remote
sensing safer and more efi-
cient and allow for Normal-
ized Difference Vegetation
Index analysis, known by the
initials NDVI, he said.
NDVI was developed by
NASA using data from sat-
ellite sensors. NDVI images
offer potential in assessing a
crop’s health and its needs —
and even estimating yield.
But the use of drones
for commercial purposes is
limited by Federal Aviation
Administration regulations,
Jackson said.
“We’re waiting for the reg-
ulations to lift to do it (remote
sensing) with UAVs. Until
the regulations are different,
there’s not a lot we can do in
that realm,” he said.
The good news is the FAA
is working on it, he said.
Meanwhile, the company
is applying for a Section 333
exemption that would allow it
to operate in the national air-
space and provide services to
growers using UAVs, he said.
It’s also selling UAVs to
growers and recommending
that if they want to use them
for anything other than rec-
reation, they should get their
own exemption, he said.
“Basically, we sell (UAVs)
to them so they can get their
feet wet and see the capabil-
ities and what’s coming,” he
said.
The technology holds
plenty of potential for agri-
culture. They could be used
in squadrons to survey crops
quicker and apply fertilizer
and pesticides less intrusive-
ly. They could be used to
monitor livestock, feed, water
and rangeland and even for
herding. Land drones could
be used for tillage or other
Family: Wife, Niki; three
young children
groundwork, he said.
“We just recognize as a
company this has big poten-
tial for agriculture, and we
want to be at the forefront of
that,” he said.
Use of the technology is
taking off in China, Japan
and Europe. The current do-
mestic delay comes down to
concerns over safety, privacy
and security — as well as the
age-old fear-mongering about
artiicial intelligence taking
over the world, he said.
They are the same issues
that come to mind when peo-
ple think about self-driving
cars, he said.
For a technology geek,
however, it’s thrilling stuff
and a cornucopia for modern
agriculture.
“I’m excited to be part of
the industry. Not a lot of com-
puter engineers have a job in
agriculture,” he said.
Oregon agricultural teacher honored for his work
By MITCH LIES
For the Capital Press
The Imbler, Ore., High
School agricultural teacher has
been recognized twice in the
past eight years by the Nation-
al Association for Agricultural
Educators.
Most recently, J.D. Cant was
recognized as the association’s
Region 1 Outstanding Agricul-
ture Teacher, one of six regional
awards presented annually by
the 7,500-plus member NAAE.
Cant received his award
Nov. 18 at the association’s
67th annual convention in New
Orleans. He said
he views his
award as a com-
munity achieve-
ment.
“I have a
great commu-
nity, great ad-
Jim Cant
ministration,
great staff, and when you have
all those components, inevita-
bly you will have a good pro-
gram,” Cant said. “I think that
this award is a relection of this
community.”
Cant, who grew up on a
cattle ranch outside Imbler and
was a charter member of high
school’s FFA chapter while
a freshman at the school, re-
turned to Imbler as the school’s
agriculture teacher 14 years
ago after obtaining a degree
from Oregon State University.
“I was very fortunate the
position opened here in Im-
bler at the exact time that I
was ready to be employed,” he
said.
In 2008 Cant won the Na-
tional Association of Agricul-
ture Educators Outstanding
Young Member award for the
11-state Region 1.
Cant takes pride that the
small school consistently
pumps out FFA teams that are
competitive.
“That is what I always talk
to our kids about,” he said.
“Make (the other teams) real-
ize that we are here and we are
going to compete. I want peo-
ple to know that if we show up,
they know we’re prepared and
they know it is not going to be
an easy win.”
More important than ield-
ing winning teams, Cant
said, is providing students
with meaningful experiences,
something that he said comes
naturally to him.
“It is easy to do something
that you are passionate about
and that you believe in and that
you think changes students for
the good,” he said.
“When you have students
that strive to be better than they
were the day before, then that is
the greatest achievement,” he
said.
The Imbler FFA Chapter
has grown steadily since Cant
became the adviser and cur-
rently includes 83 percent of
the student body. Cant also
helped write and received more
than $50,000 in grants last year
to help fund class and chapter
activities.
Ambassadors share a ‘dairy’ good day at Washington’s Capitol
OLYMPIA — Jan. 27 was a
busy day at the Capitol campus
in Olympia as dairy farmers,
dairy women and dairy ambas-
sadors visited with legislators
and handed out ice cream and
cheese samples at noon in the
Rotunda.
The Washington State Dairy
Ambassador Nicole Buell, of
Marysville, accompanied by
alternate ambassadors Amanda
Howe of Bellingham and Lydia
Johnson of Ethel, addressed the
Senate and House Republican
and Democratic caucuses about
dairy families and how they are
an important part of their com-
munities.
“Dairy farms can be found
in 29 of Washington’s 39 coun-
ties, providing jobs and sup-
porting other businesses in their
Calendar
Saturday, Feb. 6
Klamath Bull & Select Ranch
Horse Sale, Klamath County Fair-
grounds, Klamath Falls, Ore. www.
klamathbullsale.com
Nevada Small Farm Con-
ference, Nugget Casino Resort,
Sparks, 775-250-1339, http://neva-
dafarmconference.com
Sunday, Feb. 7
Klamath Bull & Select Ranch
Horse Sale, Klamath County Fair-
grounds, Klamath Falls, Ore. www.
klamathbullsale.com
Thursday, Feb. 18
WAFLA Annual Labor Confer-
ence, Central Washington Universi-
ty, Ellensburg. www.wala.org/
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Southern Idaho Direct Seed
Workshop, Shiloh Inn Conference
Center, Idaho Falls, (208) 334-
2353. www.idahowheat.org/
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester ..........................President
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Sid Freeman .................. Outside director
Mike Omeg .................... Outside director
Corporate oficer
John Perry
Chief operating oficer
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
ACEQUIA, Idaho —
While his education and cho-
sen occupation qualify him
as a technology geek, Quinn
Jackson says he is a farm boy
at heart.
The information technolo-
gy manager and software de-
veloper for Land View Inc., a
company that provides prod-
ucts and services to farmers,
ranchers and industrial cus-
tomers, grew up on a farm in
nearby Rupert.
He attended college in Utah
and now he’s back, not rais-
ing wheat and sugar beets on
the family farm but advancing
food production with a radical-
ly different skill set.
“It’s an exciting time to be
in agriculture with the tech-
nology that’s coming out,” he
said.
Following college, Jackson
worked for a Utah company
developing software directed
at public safety and law en-
forcement. He returned to ag-
riculture four years ago as the
IT director at Land View.
He’s responsible for all
computer networks, comput-
ers, cell phones and software
development at the company,
which also owns Two Rivers
Terminal in Pasco, Wash., and
employs about 50 people.
Jackson was the lead de-
veloper of internal software to
track orders. Land View is now
beginning to sell that software
Capital Press
Capital Press Managers
Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher
Joe Beach ..................................... Editor
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
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Washington’s dairy ambassadors visited the state Capitol in Olympia on Dairy Day. From left to right are Pamela Roosma, Whatcom County;
Tiana Peterson, King and Pierce counties; Jana Plagerman, Whatcom County; Allyson Carothers, Snohomish alternate; Becca Bartelheimer,
Snohomish County; Kaitlyn Meissner, Snohomish alternate; Amanda Howe, state alternate ambassador; Nicole Buell, state ambassador;
Lydia Johnson, state alternate ambassador; Grace Kuipers, Skagit County ambassador; Katelyn Banks, Yakima Valley alternate; Jessica
Stoutjesdyk, Yakima Valley ambassador; Ashley Hanson, Inland Northwest; Alicia Smaciarz, Lewis County; and Caitlin Meek, Grays Harbor.
communities,” Buell said in a
press release.
Dairy farming creates a
total of about 18,000 jobs,
which support Washington’s
second largest agricultural
commodity and contribute
$5.2 billion to Washington’s
economy, she said.
In addition, she said, dairy
farmers invest in youth, which
is why they support programs
such as high school sports and
scholastic achievements, as well
as Fuel Up to Play 60, which
encourages a lifestyle of healthy
eating and physical activity.
They also have communi-
ty outreach programs, such as
Northwest Farmers Fighting
Hunger and “Give a Gallon”
milk drives.
Dairy Day was sponsored
by the Washington State Dairy
Products Commission and the
State Dairy Federation and is
held every year during the leg-
islative session.
More information on the
Washington State Dairy Ambas-
sador program can be found at
www.wastatedairywomen.org.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Wednesday, March 2
scaping: Small Changes, Big Impact.
Presented by Oregon State Universi-
ty Extension and the Yamhill County
Master Gardeners Association.
tertainment and a trade show. http://
equinepromotions.net/
Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest,
Polk County Fairgrounds Rick-
reall Ore., 503-428-8224. Events
will promote local ag commerce
and education and provide an en-
vironment that is fun and informa-
tive for the entire family. mvwag-
fest.com/
Sunday, Feb. 28
Mid-Valley Winter Ag Fest,
Polk County Fairgrounds Rick-
reall Ore., 503-428-8224. Events
will promote local ag commerce
and education and provide an en-
vironment that is fun and informa-
tive for the entire family. mvwag-
fest.com/
Tuesday, March 1
Fruit Ripening & Ethylene Man-
agement Workshop, Postharvest
Technology Center, University of
California-Davis. http://postharvest.
ucdavis.edu/
22nd Fruit Ripening & Ethylene
Management Workshop, Posthar-
vest Technology Center, University
of California-Davis. http://posthar-
vest.ucdavis.edu/
Friday, March 4
Ag Chemical Collection Event,
Redwood Transfer Station, Grants
Pass, Ore., 541-690-9983. Pre-reg-
istration is required by Feb. 18.
www.rogueriverwc.org/
Saturday, March 5
Ag Chemical Collection Event,
Rogue Disposal Transfer Station,
White City, Ore., 541-690-9983.
Pre-registration is required by Feb.
18. www.rogueriverwc.org/
Saturday, March 12
Spring into Gardening, McMin-
nville Community Center, McMin-
nville, Ore., 503-434-7517. This
year’s theme will be Home Land-
Friday, March 18
Northwest Horse Fair & Expo
2016, Linn County Fair and Expo
Center, Albany, Ore. The largest
equine expo in the Northwest will
feature fancy dancing horses, strut-
ting stallions, clinics by world-class
horse trainers and riders, breed and
stallion review demos, equine en-
tertainment and a trade show. http://
equinepromotions.net/
Saturday, March 19
Northwest Horse Fair & Expo
2016, Linn County Fair and Expo
Center, Albany, Ore. The largest
equine expo in the Northwest will
feature fancy dancing horses, strut-
ting stallions, clinics by world-class
horse trainers and riders, breed and
stallion review demos, equine en-
Sunday, March 20
Northwest Horse Fair & Expo
2016, Linn County Fair and Expo
Center, Albany, Ore. The largest
equine expo in the Northwest will
feature fancy dancing horses, strut-
ting stallions, clinics by world-class
horse trainers and riders, breed and
stallion review demos, equine en-
tertainment and a trade show. http://
equinepromotions.net/
Sunday, March 20
California Fresh Fruit Associa-
tion Annual Meeting, Resort at Peli-
can Hill, Newport Coast. http://www.
cafreshfruit.org
Monday, March 21
California Fresh Fruit Associa-
tion Annual Meeting, Resort at Peli-
can Hill, Newport Coast. http://www.
cafreshfruit.org
Letters to the Editor: Send your
comments on agriculture-related public
issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or
mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital
Press. Letters should be limited to
300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday.
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Index
California ................................ 9
Dairy .................................... 15
Idaho ...................................... 8
Livestock ............................. 15
Markets ............................... 14
Opinion .................................. 6
Snowpack .............................. 3
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