by Matt Elwell, MTN News
BOZEMAN – Montana State University's Optical Technology Center is known for conducting world-class research, and a recent research grant from the Montana Legislature could dramatically cut costs for Montana framers in the future.
The Optical Technology Center received a 2-year, $2.5 million grant this summer to develop optics technology that can be used by ranchers and farmers in the field. The grant is part of the Montana Research & Economic Development Initiative. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to take what we have in the optics high tech area and apply it in new ways in the traditional Montana economy like agriculture” said Joe Shaw, the director of MSU’s Optical Technology Center.
The agricultural effort is going to focus primarily around the mapping of weeds during harvest time. This is a big issue for the bottom line on crop yield in the state and around the nation. The team hopes to be able to create real-time images of the weeds in the fields in an effort to help farmers target their herbicide to the areas where it is needed.
That alone could reduce spraying herbicides in fields by 40 percent and save nearly $60 million state-wide according to research conducted by the team. “This is an opportunity to do something totally new for us, and work with a segment of the Montana economy that we have barely brushed up against in the past,” said Shaw.
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Source: MTN News
