Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, June 24, 2016, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 CapitalPress.com June 24, 2016 People & Places Making high-tech tools more useful Duke Bulanon studies use of drones, robots in agriculture Western Innovator Capital Press Duke Bulanon Occupation: Professor, Northwest Nazarene Univer- sity, Nampa, Idaho Sean Ellis/Capital Press Northwest Nazarene University researcher Duke Bulanon works on an autonomous utility robot that could help Idaho farmers manage their crops while reducing input costs. Bulanon is involved in several projects involving robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles that could beneit Idaho agriculture. per about it that was published in a trade journal. Though using images to detect anomalies in crops is still an emerging ield that needs some ine-tuning, Bu- lanon is helping pioneer what could turn out to be an import- ant tool for farmers, Fallahi said. “Using those images as a guide, growers can come up with important conclusions. It could be extremely import- ant information for growers to have,” he said. “Just about anybody can use a helicopter to take a few pictures. The im- portant thing is knowing what those pictures mean.” Bulanon, 43, has received another two-year grant from the ISDA to develop a UAV-based system that uses high-spectral imagery to ac- curately count the blossoms on peach, apple and other fruit trees. That would give grow- ers the ability to make early yield estimates and plan the post-harvest process, which includes ordering a certain number of boxes or crates, he said. Bulanon hopes to expand By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Courtesy of Christy Delamarter Prosser, Wash., high school juniors Kylie and Kayden Beaver will compete in team roping at the High School Rodeo Association nationals in Wyoming in July. when we’re competing against each other if one of us does really good and the other one doesn’t,” Kylie said. A sister is more likely to forgive you if you make a mistake than another partner, Kayden added. Or maybe not. “You can yell at your sister if they do something wrong, you can’t yell at someone else because you don’t know them,” she said. They are the only girls from Washington to compete in team roping at nationals, Kayden said. The event is typ- ically the only one in which both boys and girls can com- pete. “It feels pretty awesome,” Kayden said of reaching na- tionals. “I’m just excited to go,” Kylie said. This is the sisters’ irst time at nationals. Kayden also competes in barrel racing and pole bending, while Kylie competes in goat-tying and breakaway roping. The sisters have been com- peting “almost our whole lives,” Kayden said. Their fa- ther competed in high school rodeo with his brother. The sisters practice two to four hours almost daily, Kylie said. Both sisters say they en- joy team roping the most. The rodeo’s executive di- rector, James Higginbotham, said he expects 1,500 contes- tants from 43 states, ive Ca- nadian provinces and Austra- lia at the inals. The association began in 1949 and has 12,000 to 14,000 members each year in high school and junior high school divisions. “Where other kids may be 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 Education: Bachelor’s de- gree in mechanical engineer- ing, University of San Carlos, the Philippines; Ph.D. in agricultural engineering, Iwate University, Japan Entire contents copyright © 2016 EO Media Group dba Capital Press Research focus: The use of technology to help farmers manage their crops while minimizing costs Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Family: Wife, Ella, two sons Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing ofices. that project to include field crops such as onions. He is also helping a fel- low NNU professor devel- op an autonomous utility robot that could help farm- ers maintain and harvest their crops and minimize costs. “It is basically like devel- oping a Google self-driving car for the farm,” he said. That project will be ex- panded to add a camera to the robot to count the num- ber of fruit on trees. Born and raised in the Philippines, Bulanon gained a background in agriculture while working in the agricul- tural engineering program at Iwate University in Japan. His thesis for his Ph.D. was on the robotic harvesting of apples. Later, at the University of Florida, he did research on the robotic harvesting of oranges. Twins head for high school rodeo nationals Kayden and Kylie Beaver say it’s more fun to compete with your sister than it is to go up against her. The twin sisters from Prosser, Wash., are both 17, and are juniors at Washington Virtual Academies, an online high school. Kayden and Kylie will be among more than 1,500 high school students competing in National High School Rodeo Association inals July 17-23 in Gillette, Wyo. They will compete in team roping, Kayden as a header, roping the horns of a steer, and Kylie as a heeler, roping the heels of the steer. “It’s fun to compete with my sister, instead of against her,” Kayden said. “We al- ways have fun while practic- ing. At rodeos it’s all about having fun with each other instead of competing.” “It’s always awkward 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 SEAN ELLIS NAMPA, Idaho — North- west Nazarene University researcher Duke Bulanon is working on several projects designed to help farmers use technology to better manage their crops and reduce costs. The projects involve an- alyzing images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles — popularly called drones — or robotic platforms to help farmers make sense of what they’re seeing and make time- ly decisions. “A lot of people are telling farmers, ‘We can use UAVs to help you,’ but they are just dumping all this information on the farmers,” said Bula- non. “But what will the farm- er do with that information? You need a certain software that can interpret the informa- tion in those images.” Bulanon, an NNU profes- sor in Nampa in southwestern Idaho, recently wrapped up a UAV project funded through the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s specialty crop grant program that involved using a small unmanned he- licopter to measure the ener- gy characteristics of a plant’s surface. The images can be used to monitor a plant’s condition and help farmers address ma- jor challenges such as water stress, nitrogen deiciency and disease infestation. University of Idaho re- searcher Essie Fallahi, who manages UI’s pomology pro- gram in Parma, worked with Bulanon on that project and recently wrote a research pa- Capital Press on the streets and having fun with their friends, these guys have to go home and take care of their animals,” Higgin- botham said. “It teaches them responsibility and how to get along with others.” Even when they’re com- peting, high school rodeo par- ticipants are rooting for their competitors, Higginbotham said. “A lot of people skills comes along with being a cowboy,” he said. Many competitors have a farming background, he said. Higginbotham said rodeo schools are offered through- out the country for students interested in getting involved in the sport. “It’s always good advice to go to a school to learn how, not just do it through hard knocks,” he said. The association offers roughly $1.5 million in schol- arships to go on to college, ju- nior college or a trade school, Higginbotham said. An independent newspaper published every Friday. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. 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Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main ofice or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. 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. Capital Press ag media Calendar Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our web- site at www.capitalpress.com and click on “Submit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. Saturday, June 25 Washington State Dairy Am- bassador Coronation, 5 p.m. Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Ta- coma, Wash. 360-273-7313. Tick- ets will not be available at the door. Alpacas at the Gathering, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Alpacas join the sheep and goats at the Black Sheep Gathering, with fleece, yarn, socks, scarves and more. Fleece show as part of BSG Wool Show & Sale. Lane County Events Center, 796 W 13th Ave., Eugene, Ore. Cost: free. www.al- pacafarmsoregon.org Sunday, June 26 Alpacas at the Gathering, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Alpacas join the sheep and goats at the Black Sheep Gathering, with fleece, yarn, socks, scarves and more. Fleece show as part of BSG Wool Show & Sale. Lane County Events Center, 796 W 13th Ave., Eugene, Ore. Cost: free. www.al- pacafarmsoregon.org GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com 20 Northwest Locations Saturday, July 2 molallabuckeroo.com St. Paul Rodeo, St. Paul, Ore. 1-800-237-5920. www.stpaulro- deo.com/ Eugene Pro Rodeo, 4 p.m. to midnight, 90751 Prairie Road, Eu- gene, Ore. http://www.eugenepro- rodeo.com/ Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, Mo- lalla, Ore. 503-829-8388. http:// molallabuckeroo.com Wednesday, July 6 OSU Caneberry Field Day, 1-5 p.m., North Willamette Research & Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, Ore. http://oregon- state.edu/dept/NWREC/ Eugene Pro Rodeo, 4 p.m. to midnight, 90751 Prairie Road, Eu- gene, Ore. http://www.eugenepro- rodeo.com/ OSU Blueberry Field Day, 1-5 p.m. North Willamette Research & Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, Ore. http://oregon- state.edu/dept/NWREC/ Sunday, July 3 Thursday, June 30 St. Paul Rodeo, St. Paul, Ore. 1-800-237-5920. www.stpaulro- deo.com/ Thursday, July 7 Wednesday, June 29 St. Paul Rodeo, St. Paul, Ore. 1-800-237-5920. www.stpaulrodeo. com/ Friday, July 1 St. Paul Rodeo, St. Paul, Ore. 1-800-237-5920. www.stpaulrodeo. com/ Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, Molal- la, Ore. 503-829-8388. http://molal- labuckeroo.com Eugene Pro Rodeo, 4 p.m. to midnight, 90751 Prairie Road, Eu- gene, Ore. http://www.eugeneproro- deo.com/ Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, Mo- lalla, Ore. 503-829-8388. http:// molallabuckeroo.com Eugene Pro Rodeo, 5:30 to 11 p.m., Prairie Road, Eugene, Ore. http://www.eugeneprorodeo.com/ Monday, July 4 St. Paul Rodeo, St. Paul, Ore. 1-800-237-5920. www.stpaulro- deo.com/ Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, Mo- lalla, Ore. 503-829-8388. http:// Marion County Fair, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem. 503-585-9998, http://www. co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair Friday, July 8 California State Fair, 1600 Ex- position Blvd., Sacramento, 916- 263-FAIR, http://www.castatefair. org/ Marion County Fair, 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem. 503-585-9998, http://www. co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair Saturday, July 9 California State Fair, 1600 Ex- 1-800-765-9055 position Blvd., Sacramento, 916- 263-FAIR, http://www.castatefair. org/ Marion County Fair, 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem. 503-585-9998, http://www. co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair Sunday, July 10 California State Fair, 1600 Expo- sition Blvd., Sacramento, 916-263- FAIR, http://www.castatefair.org/ Marion County Fair, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem. 503-585-9998, http://www. co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair Monday, July 11 California State Fair, 1600 Expo- sition Blvd., Sacramento, 916-263- FAIR, http://www.castatefair.org/ Tuesday, July 12 California State Fair, 1600 Expo- sition Blvd., Sacramento, 916-263- FAIR, http://www.castatefair.org/ Wednesday, July 13 California State Fair, 1600 Expo- sition Blvd., Sacramento, 916-263- FAIR, http://www.castatefair.org/ www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com www.AgDirectoryWest.com www.OnlyAg.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller www.facebook.com/onlyAGdotcom twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo www.blogriculture.com Index Dairy ...................................... 8 Livestock ............................... 8 Opinion .................................. 6 Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.