#digital farming tools

[farmerstrend]

Why Kenya's Agritech Startups Struggle to Penetrate the Market Despite Strong Investment

Discover why Kenya’s agritech startups struggle with market penetration despite strong investment, and explore how regulatory challenges and fragmented services hinder growth in the sector. Kenya’s agritech industry faces hurdles beyond funding, including complex regulations and data security concerns. Learn how startups can overcome these challenges to scale and succeed. Uncover the key barriers…

[kirby-the-gorb]

[nanapops]

march seated on a window sill :-)

[squisheebugdoodles]

My luck in minecraft has not gotten much better these last months but still we stay silly and prevail djsmfldskjfsdfklj

[thedangerfloofhasreturned]

Forgotten Bible Heroes - Shamgar

(Pencil and digital original work)

No one knows who he was; no one knows his real name. All that is known is his one heroic feat: killing 600 Philistine warriors with an oxgoad. What tragedy had driven him from his home? Did he die in this effort? Did he meet the God of Israel? Will we ever know?

Video explanation here: https://youtu.be/FCVfcfom_Ao?si=HFVqOZUU2PVOl3gU

[gagliandi]

Discovering the Power of Reaper: My Go-To DAW for Music Production

In the expansive world of digital audio workstations (DAWs), Reaper stands out not just for its robust features and affordability but as my DAW of choice for all my music production needs. From the intricate beats crafted for the Garlic Farm project to the diverse soundscapes explored in my other works, Reaper has been an indispensable tool in my creative arsenal. Here’s why Reaper has earned its…

[ultimac]

CLİPART - DRAGON+ (5)

The historical development of farm clipart has evolved significantly over time, reflecting changes in artistic styles, technological advancements, and cultural influences. Initially, farm clipart consisted of simplistic and rudimentary drawings of basic farm elements such as barns, animals, and crops. As graphic design tools and techniques advanced, farm clipart became more detailed and realistic, capturing the essence of farm life with greater precision and creativity. With the rise of digital platforms and online marketplaces, farm clipart has become more accessible and diverse, offering a wide range of options for designers and creators to incorporate farm-related visuals into their projects. The evolution of farm clipart mirrors the evolution of farming practices and the agricultural industry, showcasing the deep connection between art, technology, and cultural representation in visual storytelling.

Similarly, the evolution of history clipart has followed a trajectory of innovation and adaptation to changing artistic styles and educational trends. Historically, history clipart primarily featured iconic historical figures, landmarks, and events depicted in a simplistic and educational manner. As digital platforms and educational resources developed, history clipart expanded to include a broader range of topics, styles, and visual interpretations. Modern history clipart encompasses a diverse array of historical themes, from ancient civilizations to contemporary global events, catering to the varied needs of educators, students, and enthusiasts. The evolution of history clipart reflects society's evolving interest in history, visual literacy, and the power of imagery to convey complex historical narratives in a compelling and informative way.

The trends in food clipart styles have undergone a transformation in response to changing culinary preferences, design aesthetics, and cultural influences. Initially, food clipart featured traditional depictions of common food items such as fruits, vegetables, and dishes in a realistic and straightforward manner. However, as culinary diversity and visual storytelling evolved, food clipart began to incorporate more stylized, artistic, and thematic elements to convey the richness and diversity of global cuisines. From minimalist food illustrations to vibrant and whimsical food compositions, the trends in food clipart styles reflect the fusion of creativity, technology, and culinary appreciation in visual design. By exploring different food clipart styles, designers and content creators can enhance their projects with visually appealing and culturally resonant food imagery that engages and inspires audiences.

[mariacallous]

Today, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against farming equipment manufacturer Deere & Company—makers of the iconic green John Deere tractors, harvesters, and mowers—citing its longtime reluctance to keep its customers from fixing their own machines.

“Farmers rely on their agricultural equipment to earn a living and feed their families,” FTC chair Lina Khan wrote in a statement alongside the full complaint. “Unfair repair restrictions can mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows.”

The FTC’s main complaint here centers around a software problem. Deere places limitations on its operational software, meaning certain features and calibrations on its tractors can only be unlocked by mechanics who have the right digital key. Deere only licenses those keys to its authorized dealers, meaning farmers often can’t take their tractors to more convenient third-party mechanics or just fix a problem themselves. The suit would require John Deere to stop the practice of limiting what repair features its customers can use and make them available to those outside official dealerships.

Kyle Wiens is the CEO of the repair advocacy retailer iFixit and an occasional WIRED contributor who first wrote about John Deere’s repair-averse tactics in 2015. In an interview today, he noted how frustrated farmers get when they try to fix something that has gone wrong, only to run into Deere's policy.

“When you have a thing that doesn’t work, if you’re 10 minutes from the store, it’s not a big deal,” Wiens says. “If the store is three hours away, which it is for farmers in most of the country, it’s a huge problem.”

The other difficulty is that US copyright protections prevent anyone but John Deere from making software that counteracts the restrictions the company has put on its platform. Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 makes it so people can’t legally counteract technological measures that fall under its protections. John Deere’s equipment falls under that copyright policy.

“Not only are they being anti-competitive, it's literally illegal to compete with them,” Wiens says.

Deere in the Headlights

Wiens says that even though there has been a decade of pushback against John Deere from farmers and repairability advocates, the customers using the company’s machines have not seen much benefit from all that discourse.

“Things really have not gotten better for farmers,” Wiens says. “Even with all of the noise around a right to repair over the years, nothing has materially changed for farmers on the ground yet.”

This suit against Deere, he thinks, will be different.

“This has to be the thing that does it,” Wiens says. “The FTC is not going to settle until John Deere makes the software available. This is a step in the right direction.”

Deere’s reluctance to make its products more accessible has angered many of its customers, and even garnered generally bipartisan congressional support for reparability in the agricultural space. The FTC alleges John Deere also violated legislation passed by the Colorado state government in 2023 that requires farm equipment sold in the state to make operational software accessible to users.

“Deere’s unlawful business practices have inflated farmers’ repair costs and degraded farmers’ ability to obtain timely repairs,” the suit reads.

Deere & Company did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Instead, the company forwarded its statement about the FTC's lawsuit. The statement reads, in part: “Deere remains fully committed to ensuring that customers have the highest quality equipment, reliable customer service and that they, along with independent repair technicians, have access to tools and resources that can help diagnose, maintain and repair our customers’ machines. Deere’s commitment to these ideals will not waiver even as it fights against the FTC’s meritless claims.”

Elsewhere in the statement, Deere accused the FTC of "brazen partisanship" filed on the "eve of a change in administration" from chair Lina Khan to FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson. The company also pointed to an announcement, made yesterday, about an expansion to its repairability program that lets independent technicians reprogram the electronic controllers on Deere equipment.

Nathan Proctor, senior director for the Campaign for the Right to Repair at the advocacy group US PIRG, wrote a statement lauding the FTC’s decision. He thinks this case, no matter how it turns out, will be a positive step for the right to repair movement more broadly.

“I think this discovery process will paint a picture that will make it very clear that their equipment is programmed to monopolize certain repair functions,” Proctor tells WIRED. “And I expect that Deere will either fix the problem or pay the price. I don’t know how long that is going to take. But this is such an important milestone, because once the genie’s out of the bottle, there’s no getting it back in.”

[bpdloop]

party in the minecraft server hcs ^^

the sever itself

owned* by bonnie (actually maintained by odile but she gave bonnie the owner tag because they wanted it so bad)

everyone has it under a different name on their own devices but officially the server is called the digital familytale

modded semi vanilla* (for the most part. theres a morbillion science mods added for odiles sake specifically, a few furniture mods for mira and a clothing mod for isa though)

mainly on peaceful but will sometimes be bumped up to easy for resources or fun

mira

tends to a village nearby the family's house that she has expanded tenfold from its original starting point

cares deeply for all of the villagers and has used a name tag on each and every one of them. they all have their own personalities and stories

brews potions on demand, so long as you bring her the ingredients

likes to play on easy mode when on the server by her lonesome in order to collect resources

will not step foot into the nether. not even for the pretty light wood (even if she really really wants the pretty light wood)

tool order: wand -> rapier -> crafted crook. the wand is essentially a long ranged weapon that can both attack and heal, but is mostly used for the latter. the rapier was specifically modded in for her. the crook is a multipurpose tool, combining shovel, axe and pick into one tool

isa

built a big barn

loves his big barn

is constantly talking about, working on, and admiring his big barn

is the guy to come to if you need any sort of animal produce or need to borrow a horse. owns at least three of any type of animal at all times

will get on with mira to help defeat mobs to make things go by faster

in charge of armor, tools and upgrades. spends a lot less time on any of that and a lot more time on making fun clothes, though

built a little storefront to pretend to sell his clothes from in mira's village. does often actually change the villager's outfits for funsies

tool order: gauntlets -> axe -> pick -> shovel. when wearing the gauntlets they will cover both hands of his model and do damage comparable to an iron sword twice (once with each hand) before a short cooldown

odile

couldnt really get into it before adding mods. now has the most playtime. even if you totaled everyone elses playtimes, odile would just barely eek out over it (if you took out siffrins, who's the closest to rivaling her, it wouldnt even be a competition)

the minecraft wikierrrrrrrrr. keeps that shit on tap even though she has memorized many of the recipes

always striving to make a project bigger than the last

redstone queen

regularly visits the nether to trade with piglins. one of the mods has them rebuild their structures if they notice the gold has gone missing. she pilfers it again every visit without fail

tool order: sword -> pick -> shovel. doesnt harvest wood so deems it unnecessary to carry an axe

bonnie

has an obscenely large, unautomated farm. they will spend entire days afking near the farm just so it grows. more often than not when theyre afk during one of these sessions, theyre off making real snacks for everyone

didnt understand and therefore didnt care about redstone until odile taught them. the day after, everyone logged on to the Laggiest Server Ever. when they went to investigate, bonnie showed off their extremely over complicated redstone contraption that did nothing more than activate a charge. nobody had the heart to tell them it was the cause of the lag spikes, so they suffered through it for like a week after until bonnie came to the realization themself and tore it down

completely and utterly dedicated to making a redstone rollercoaster of some sort. at some point. definitely. its 100% on the to do list, bet

teleports to everyone randomly to deliver meals. some good indicators youre about to get a visit from the Snacks God is 1) you mentioned the fact you have no food on you, 2) theyre talking about one of their recent harvests, and 3) "hey are u somewhere scary rn"

unable to die due to isa making them an accessory called the eternal necklace of undying. so long as you have it on in the charm slot, youre completely unkillable. bonnie was Extremely happy about this, as it meant they could finally leave creative and would stop accidentally breaking things left and right. it took many weeks of work to craft, and as thanks, bonnie made him his favorite meal in real life three days in a row

tool order: hoe -> shovel -> axe. does not carry weapons

loop

keeps offering to make a mob spawner for ease of access to mob resources and exp. nobody want them to because spawners are big and ugly but loop is adamant about the fact they can make it pretty (they end up making one very far away from the house once. they were not able to make it pretty.)

loves the bow and arrow but hates the crossbow. does not carry any weaponry outside of that

has an area they call Loop's Paradise! the only thing located there is a lone interactable beach chair near the beginning of a large ocean, a single redstone lamp that powers on when the sun sets and a jukebox. when asked what makes this a paradise they simply say its peaceful (they are blasting Cure for ADHD - 30 min of Breakcore from the jukebox)

tool order: bow -> pick -> axe. chooses to break dirt and the like with their hand or some other thing on their person

siffrin

has given everyone a flower that he thinks resembles them and a pot to put it in

survives mainly on fish, but makes sure to focus on the meals bonnie gives him first and foremost

doesnt like playing off of peaceful if he has the choice

has tamed an obscene amount of wolves. leaves the majority of them in isa's care and exactly one in loop's. they all have names. loop's dog is named starbit

tool order: dagger -> pick -> shovel -> axe. the dagger was specifically modded in for them

↓

[sammy8d257]

Hello Hello AvA Fandom!

Welcome to Animator vs Animation Sticktober 2023!

As per usual, this prompt list was created by @k1ttyadventurer with me as the organizer!

For those new to this, AvA Sticktober is a yearly art challenge inspired by the Inktober art challenge where you draw something in ink everyday based on a prompt list!

AvA Sticktober works similarly, expect you can do any of these prompts in any way you want! Traditionally, digitally, written, or arts and crafts? Heck yeah! Want to combine 2 prompts into one? Go for it!  Don’t know what to draw for one prompt? Replace it with one of substitute prompts provided!

There’s no pressure to complete all of them if you don’t have the time or just don’t want to!  The art challenge is all about having fun! 

AvA Sticktober starts on Oct. 1 and ends Oct. 31!

If you fill out any prompts, post it with the tag #AvA Sticktober to share it with others! I’d love to see what you all create!

Typed out Prompt List below:

Sticks

Build

Dirt

Wood

Stone

Diamond

Farm

Cave

Bed

Overworld

VS. (competition)

Craft

Tool

Sword

Bow

Armor

Enchant

Potion

Lava

Mob

Nether

Cube

Explore

Portal

Trade

Minecraft

Redstone

Command

Egg

Elytra

The End

Does a prompt have you stumped? Try one of these in its place!

Mod

Pig

TNT

Dragon

Trident

PvP

Flower

Music

Advancement

Dye

Void

[serpentface]

seems like for the qilik, obligate sophontry interrupted the transitional proto-avian glider stage and the hands are of some rationale trouble for an otherwise beak-using lineage. have you considered having the digit based tool use stem from increasingly dexterous handclaws to pry insects out of bark and tree trunks? i mean clinging to the side of trees is the general vibe of proto-avian gliders, and clades that focused on beak use for catching prey on the wing would continue into true avian lineages, while solidly gliding lineages focusing on digging for buggies woulda coulda shoulda be pushed by desertification/forest collapse occuring at geological speeds greater than that of evolutionary adaptation into terrestrial obligate sophontry. maybe. maybe they farmed termites or something. love the world hope they get that cow to the place :)

That's a really good idea, i think I'll go with it...

It fits perfectly with established lore of them having stemmed from climbing/gliding proto-birds (I haven't picked out a definite place in clade avelae (esp since the 'trees down' hypothesis of avian flight is contested) and there's some tremendous artistic license taken there, I've referenced microraptors and auorinis most for anatomy).

Also fits very well with established lore that they are predominantly insectivorous with populations outside of forested regions relying more heavily on vertebrate prey, and the fact that they have a pre-historic coevolutionary relationship with a species of ant, AND with the fact that their terrestrial lifestyle developed in response to fragmentation of forest habitats (separate to the 'contemporary' climate change event in the setting, which resulted in behaviorally modern qilik fragmenting into three distinct subspecies)

I'm thinking it would probably be the 'thumb' digit that is most specialized into tearing bark (as a better excuse for opposability lol) while the other two digits remain strong and flexible with curved claws to grip bark and assist with tearing. A flexible 'thumb' used to extract insects from bark could give way to more specialized tool use than could be accomplished with the mouth (probably stripped twigs to 'fish' for ants/termites in a similar fashion to chimps).

Their tool use probably predated this adaptation, ancestral gliding qilik may have been corvid-like in intelligence, but more dexterous manipulating limbs would allow for refinement in tool use and reinforce the ''hand''s dominance as a manipulating limb over the beak. And this would be further reinforced by a more terrestrial lifestyle.

As it stands their wing and hand anatomy is like this with great diversity in extent of feathering, given their flight feathers are vestigial in all three subspecies, which themselves are highly hybridized (flight feathers are most retained in only the most genetically isolated populations that dwell in forests and cliffs, where they are used for wing assisted incline running and to slow falls (though no anatomically modern qilik are capable of actual gliding)).

Sloppy as hell ref image

They have lost their curved gripping claws on their 'fingers' but retain a shorter version of the probing claw on their 'thumb'. I definitely need to refine the anatomy here but it's a start

[farmerstrend]

Why Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya Are Championing Native Tree Restoration

Smallholders in Western Kenya strongly support native-tree restoration due to long-term benefits for landscape restoration, productivity and livelihoods, new research shows. Digital tools and community buy-in are successfully backing restoration projects A farmer waters seedlings along the Nzoia River in Siaya, Kenya. African nations have grand ambitions to green up landscapes with trees; the…

[plaidos]

PZ girlie here again bc so far none of my friends have taken the bait and thus I have nowhere to celebrate my progress:

I've managed to survive more than a week in one go! I can take on groups of 5-10 zombies now without too much trouble, as long as I manage to keep myself from getting surrounded. my favorite weapon is the pipe wrench, though the baseball bat has also been really useful. I have yet to fire a gun, and I feel like I'm probably going to keep it that way since they attract SO much attention.

My next issue is finding a permanent base: I've been doing a really nomadic thing so far, moving from house to house and then finding a place to crash when I need to sleep. One playthrough I made the mistake of walking out to the countryside with no car and even though I was surviving okay I got so bored that I found the biggest group of zombies I could and ended the run early. any base suggestions for muldraugh or rosewood?

boy do i have incredibly good base suggestions for specifically muldraugh and rosewood!!!

in Rosewood check out the fire station in the south. it’s got everything a prospective base needs — two floors ✅ built-in kitchen with oven ✅ plenty of storage space ✅ dual garage ✅ it’s in the safest spot in Rosewood imo (there’s an open field across the street perfect for farming) and it’s literally across the road from the police station which should be filled to the brim with guns to steal, and police batons if you don’t wanna fire a bullet. it’s also near a residential area so it’s already blocked off by a big fence from most angles, it’s very easy to fence off this courtyard-like parking lot outside the front, plus it’ll have a ton of fireman clothes which are really tough & provide a lot of protection and if you run out you can always take a trip into town for long enough for zombies to respawn back near the fire department for infinite fire helmets/axes/etc

Muldraugh is definitely a tougher start for a newer player but the Mass Gen Fac Co warehouse building on the north side of town. it has THREE floors (technically four if you build a staircase up to put rain collectors over the stairwell, which i have) one of which is just fully outside and you can FARM THINGS FROM THE ROOF!!! it’s literally packed to the brim with the biggest storage containers in the game and they’re almost all full of useful tools etc. it also has a dual garage & a parking lot, but the only downside is no oven so you’re gonna have to go find some houses nearby to cook or if you’re my friend @quantumshade you’ll disassemble 100 digital watches until you can move an oven into the base.

good luck!!!

[5kindsofmagic]

Got an amazing pic of my favorite Spore creation, the Ramechi, from @afallenwolf. I love my dolphin/raptor/bugs so much! Species details after the break

They're a semi-aquatic, air breathing species that live primarily in the tropics of their planet. Their diet is primarily piscivorous, sashimi is a big part of their culture. Their bite force is on par with an alligator's. Their 6 eyes let them have binocular vision in nearly every direction. One pair of eyes is located in each half of the jaw, while the third is farther back and anchored in the main part of the skull. The crystal on the end of their tail is bioluminescent, and they use patterns of flashes as part of their language. Underwater, they almost exclusively communicate via light patterns. At slower speeds, they use their 6 webbed legs to swim with high maneuverability. But, if they need a burst of speed, they put that powerful tail fluke to use. Each limb has 3 powerful claws, easily capable of holding on to wet rock surfaces even when being battered by waves. Their striped hide gives them camouflage in long grass as well as sandy shoals. In addition, they possess a limited form of color changing, which they use to ambush prey or escape from megafaunal predators. On land their theropod-like stance gives them incredible speed and jumping capability. They are also capable of putting on bursts of speed to chase down prey.

They started out as merely pack hunters, much like orcas, developing languages of both vocalizations and patterns of flashes from their tails. Eventually they started to figure out how to create fish farms, and agricuture was born. With a reliable food source, they were able to settle in one place and develop tools, music, a base 12 counting system (since they have a total of 12 digits on their hands), and other technologies. They never colonized very far inland, always having a large body of water nearby to farm their food. A total of 4 other species reached a tribal level of technology on their planet, being content to stay to their own preferred biomes of plains, forests, mountains, and even one desert-dwelling species.

As Ramechi society and technology evolved farther past their neighbors, soon many different ideals came to the forefront. Some civilizations wanted to conquer the other through war, some wanted to convert them through religion. But, the one that would eventually unite the world was an economic powerhouse that outlasted all competition by focusing on long-term sustainability rather than short-term profits.

As the Ramechi took to the stars they dubbed themselves Knights, defenders of truth and justice wherever they roam.

[roach-works]

hi! I've always admired how you include infrastructure systems in your worldbuilding, and I was wondering if you have any book/documentary/podcast/etc. recs for someone who wants to go into gnarly detail about (for example) wastewater processing, O2 production, and simulated weather systems on a generation ship, but whose current level of knowledge is just "I read a lot of sci-fi?" I find the stuff fascinating in other people's writing, but figuring out where to start research is overwhelming.

shit, that's tough. most of my qualifications are 'i also read a lot of sci fi' but i also read a lot of those pop-up pocket news articles about technology and the environment... my brain isn't one of those kinds of brains where there's much differentiation between what im reading, what im writing, and who im in conversation with. im just always reading everything and having opinions on it and telling my friends what i just learned and learning more about what they learned and so on... tumblr's great for that, honestly. follow a lot of environment and good news blogs, and you'll get an interesting feed of interesting updates on the global ecology.

i would also suggest browsing national geographic, wired, and make magazine websites, if you can. get some good paywall blockers, or dish out for a subscription... the atlantic also has interesting stuff here and there.

'how it's made' type videos are great, especially older mr rogers era stuff, where the machines are less digital and more manual.

get a library card, especially for ebooks--if you're american you can use libby--and browse nonfiction. you can also just ask librarians to help you find stuff. i really admire science writers mary roach and randall munroe, think ryan north is very entertaining, and find malcom gladwell and bill bryson interesting if not particularly trustworthy.

hope this helps! i don't have any more specific suggestions, sorry.

EDIT: GET DUCK DUCK GO AS YOUR SEARCH ENGINE AND FIREFOX WITH UBLOCK AS YOUR BROWSER. i can't emphasize enough how much more useful your search results will be when you need to learn real information about things like ships and sewage systems and oyster farming. these days google only sends you to amazon, wayfair, and pinterest, it's fucking useless if you're not shopping, and sucks even if you are shopping.

there's other, more specialized browsers too that are worth a look.

and of course the internet archive has the wayback machine plus a lot of cool old books for free:

edit edit: here's another post on good search engines

[btc-mining]

Bitcoin Mining platform

Bitcoin Live App is a crypto mining platform to help you start earning BTC! It contains the most necessary tools for working with digital assets: cloud bitcoin mining equipment with high hash power. It is a meta-universe of crypto investments available to everyone.

How does Bitcoin Mining App work?

Previously, to mine cryptocurrencies, you had to buy equipment and then recoup its cost. Bitcoin Live App allows you to start mining right now with a minimum cost threshold.

We have developed a quantum decryption algorithm to mine Bitcoin at unsurpassed speed. You only have to log in and activate our process with very simple steps, the magic happens in our the magic happens in our mining farms, so you just have to wait for your profits to be generated. No more hassle with buying and maintaining equipment or mining pools.It's easiest and most efficient way to make money from cryptocurrency mining without having to buy and maintain your equipment. Just choose and buy the best Crypto Mining Key for you and start earning today!

Join over 50.000 people with the world’s leading hashpower provider

During this time, We have won the trust of thousands of users. So, join our Platform and start earning bitcoin today by using our mining website. Start mining the quick way, Generate 1 BTC fast and easy with instant withdraw.