Will Boyer's Academic/Professional Page

Novel Drone System Saves Resources, Competes With More Expensive Tech UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Environmental scientists and water resource managers need precise, high-resolution maps to reveal areas that farmers should avoid when planting crops, to...

Seaweed Compound Shows Major Methane Cuts in Beef Cattle ADELAIDE, Australia — Adelaide University researchers have demonstrated that a naturally derived seaweed compound can dramatically reduce methane emissions from beef cattle raised in extensive...

Why Measuring Nitrate Matters to Water Quality MANHATTAN, Kan. — Understanding how much nitrate is present in irrigation water is important not only for farm management decisions, but also for protecting the...

Drone-Mounted Lab Monitors Fertilizer Runoff in Real Time WASHINGTON — What if instead of taking a water or soil sample to the lab, you could take the lab to the sample? That’s what a...

Virtual Fencing Gaining Some Traction with USDA, Private Funding When heavy rains flooded pastures in East Hardwick, Maine, in July 2023, rancher Ben Nottermann couldn’t reach his livestock for days.

Long-Term Study Reveals Best Practices for Building Soil Carbon in Agricultural Soils EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Investigators at the KBS LTER site find differences in soil carbon gain among cover cropped, no-till, and perennial cropping systems after...

Best Practices in Agrisolar – AgriSolar Clearinghouse PublicationBest Practices in Agrisolar Agrisolar is the co-location of agriculture and solar energy in a landscape. This guide covers the state-of-the-art best practices for growing crops, grazing, beekeeping, and creating pollinator habitat under and around solar arrays. A chief strength of the Agr...

Cattle Chat: Managing Mud MANHATTAN, Kan. – As rising temperatures melt the snow, what often follows are areas of mud. Just as it is hard for people to walk...

Potential for U.S. Agriculture to Be Greenhouse Gas Negative - CAST Science "Potential for U.S. Agriculture to Be Greenhouse Gas Negative” outlines how combining reduced GHG emissions from some agricultural activities with increased carbon sequestration in others could achieve GHG-negative agriculture. It also describes the research needed to help accomplish this.

Solar Water Pumping Guide This guide is primarily about DC powered pumps, as used in typical solar electric systems. Information is also provided on using AC powered pumps on systems that have an inverter available.