From the Executive Director
 Most people think of March and universities, and understandably connect the two with basketball. Sure, I get that. However, March is also student rally season.
Last week both the Midwest and Southeast held successful events. California and Nevada held their excellent rally last month, since spring arrives early in California. The Midwest rally took place at Ohio State, and I’m told the attendees had a memorable time networking and exploring the profession. The Southeastern rally was hosted by the University of Florida and International Student Branch President Kennedy Belknap. More than 100 students from eleven schools participated. It was my privilege to join them and give remarks at their closing banquet held in the UF football stadium, or “The Swamp” (see photo).
My message to the students: Take advantage now of the free undergraduate student membership. Joining is quick and easy and it will change your life. Next, get engaged and check out all that ASABE has to offer. Be sure to listen to the new podcast series “The Lead with ASABE,” starting with the one titled "Student Activities in ASABE," and consider creating content of your own. Next, tell your ASABE story by April 2 and you could win money. Lastly, be on the lookout for undergraduate opportunities like the Circular Economy and Digitalization research study program, with funding available for successful applicants. It’s a ten-week session to study food-systems topics, including food loss and waste, horticultural sciences, biological engineering, agriculture-aquaculture economics, consumer studies, systems modeling, crop modeling, forage breeding, high-throughput phenotyping, precision agriculture, and more. Hurry, the deadline to apply has been extended until March 31.
Darrin J. Drollinger
Executive Director
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The schedule is filling up for #ASABE23. Watch for details to be posted at www.asabemeetings.org for all the technical sessions, socials, tour options and more. This site is where you will also find registration and sponsorship opportunities.
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Society Election Results Announced
 Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the Society. Terms of office begin at the close of the 2023 AIM in Omaha, Nebraska.
Voted to the Society Board are President-Elect Douglas R. Otto, and Trustees Gayle C. Baker, Carol L. Jones, and Kyle R. Mankin.
Joining the Nominating Committee are Mikela R. Pryor, Kelly R. Thorp, Santosh K. Pitla, Joe Sagues, Kristen M. Perano, Joe D. Luck, Anita M. Thompson, and Terry Howell, Jr. A very hearty thanks to all voters and candidates alike for contributing to a successful election and affirming the importance of the work of ASABE and of Society volunteers.
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AIM to Welcome Borlaug Humanitarian Awardee Chris Field
 We're pleased to announce our keynote speaker for this year's annual international meeting: Chris Field, winner of the Norman Borlaug Humanitarian Award, will share motivational stories from his experiences as a leader and change agent.
Author of Disrupting for Good, Field has been effecting positive change for most of his life, running for mayor as a teenager, breaking multiple Guinness World Records, and winning the Borlaug Award for his leadership in using aquaculture in rural Ghana to help rescue more than 250 children from slavery. He inspires others from all walks of life (including engineers!) to see that the very tools they already use every day are the same tools needed to disrupt for good.
In his keynote, Field will weave his own story with those of other ordinary people who became extraordinary disruptors, offering a clear call to action: Anybody, anywhere, can choose to disrupt for good. And not only can they, but they must.
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ASABE, AEM Present Davidson Prizes at Commodity Classic
ASABE and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) recently presented the sixth-annual Davidson Prize to three top innovative products. Winners were selected from this year's AE50 honorees, and the presentation was made March 9 during Commodity Classic in Orlando, Fla. ASABE President-Elect designee Doug Otto (in photo, second from right) was on hand for the presentation.
Winning entries included:
Read the full announcement.
Photos courtesy AGCO Corporation
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Digging Deep: New Podcast and Blog Explore Subjects that Matter
 We're delighted to announce two additions to the ASABE media portfolio. Alongside this monthly newsletter, the ASABE website, our social media channels, and bimonthly Resource magazine, you'll now find a blog and a podcast.
"The Lead with ASABE" is a new podcast featuring a range of subjects that will be of interest to our members, the engineering and technology community, and beyond. The series offers conversations with those who are leading transformative research, collaborations, and Society initiatives. Each episode will have a run time of approximately 30 minutes—a length that's handy for a morning jog or commute.
“We’re really excited to offer a podcast for our members,” says ASABE President Keith Tinsey. “This is an important step in expanding our communication offerings for ASABE members and stakeholders.”
The first seven episodes of "The Lead with ASABE" dropped earlier this month and cover the following topics:
Find the "The Lead with ASABE" on Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Google Podcasts. And here's a special shoutout to all the ASABE guests who helped get us off the ground with this first round of podcasts.
Also launching earlier this month was the new ASABE blog, a series of occasional posts that, like our podcast, will dig into subject matter that we hope will bring you greater insight and understanding of the activities and individuals shaping the profession, ASABE, and our related industries.
We hope you'll take a little time to sample these new media, and we'd love your feedback as well as your suggestions for podcast guests and blog topics. Your thoughts on a guest blogger post would also be welcome. The next round of posts and podcast episodes is in development now, so contact Dolores Landeck, ASABE communications director, with your ideas.
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New Faces: Open to All, Top Award $2000, Deadline April 2
 We love President Keith Tinsey's "ASABE Story," explaining how his membership in ASABE has benefited him personally and professionally throughout his career. We’re betting you have an #ASABEstory of your own. Share it with us in this year’s New Faces of ASABE contest, and it could earn you up to $2000!
And because we know that some of the best stories may come from those with a longer ASABE history, this year we’re adding a second contest division, for those age 35 and up.
Deadline for entry is April 2. Get the full details here.
Our thanks to Deere & Company for their sponsorship of ASABE's New Faces program.
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Final Reminder: Nominate for 2024 Class of ASABE Fellows
 "A Fellow shall be an engineer of unusual professional distinction, with outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience in, or related to, the field of agricultural, food or biological engineering.”
Nominations for the 2024 class of ASABE Fellows are due April 15. Eligible nominees will have 20 years' membership in ASABE and a strong record of contributions to the profession and the Society.
Visit the Fellows page for full eligibility and nomination requirements.
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New Issue of Resource Continues Circularity Conversation
 Through voices ranging from a student member to a past president, the March/April issue of Resource continues our circular bioeconomy theme.
Ben Runkle, PE, and others take a look at the opportunities for a circular bioeconomy in rice production, while Past President Maury Salz takes a dive into how we can promote circular bioeconomy systems. Undergraduate student Emma Dahl takes us on her study abroad experience, where she discovers sustainability in the French Alps.
Continuing our celebration of the Young Professionals Community as it celebrates 20 years of leadership, we take a look at the community's middle years, from 2009 to 2015.
And finally, you won’t want to miss Tony Grift’s Last Word where he proves you can’t judge a book by its cover.
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Register Now for the Upcoming Member Hours
Find all information on the Events Calendar or click the images below.
Member Hours are free, but registration is required.
All Member Hour presentations are recorded and available on our YouTube channel.
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AIM Presenters: Use Template to Upload Your Paper
Presenting at the ASABE 2023 Annual International Meeting?
Be sure to use the 2023 paper template and read the FAQ for instructions. If your paper is not submitted by May 1 (midnight eastern time), it will not be added to our Online Technical Library until after the meeting. Email AIMpapers@asabe.org with questions.
. . . and Enjoy a Discount for Journal Articles
Convert your 2023 AIM presentation to a journal article and receive a page charge discount of $100, or 10%, if over 10 pages for the final layout. You must be registered for the 2023 Annual International Meeting, present your work at the 2023 AIM, and submit your manuscript to ScholarOne by October 1, 2023.
When uploading to ScholarOne, at the end of Step 1: Type, Title, & Abstract, be sure to select the special collection "Annual International Meeting (AIM) Discount" and include in your cover letter your 2023 AIM paper number.
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Special Collection on Regenerative Ag: An Invitation to Publish
December 31, 2023, is the deadline for the upcoming Regenerative Ag collection of journal papers on a wide range of topics and community contributions.
We invite papers that evaluate the multidimensional impacts of regenerative agricultural practices, including:
- Biophysical impacts, i.e., impacts on the soil-plant-atmospheric continuum, and resource efficiency
- Environmental, economic, and social outcomes
- Technological innovations that streamline and promote adoption of such practices
Experts from within ASABE as well as from other synergistic disciplines are invited to participate.
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Other Special Collections: Autonomous Ag, Digital Water, Cyberbiosecurity
Collections and Deadlines for Submission:
April 20, 2023
Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture
This Special Collection of peer-reviewed papers presents works that discuss current information; gaps in knowledge; and research needs that connect to issues such as risk, insurability, regulations and policy, workforce, and societal implications.
September 1, 2023
Digital Water: Computing Tools, Technologies, and Trends
This collection focuses on digital water and its early applications in different areas of water resources planning and management.
March 31, 2024
Cyberbiosecurity: Securing Water and Agricultural Systems
This collection presents works that survey, envision, redesign and/or develop methods for water and agricultural systems directly affected by cybersecurity.
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Students: Apply for the Student Honor Award
ASABE's Student Honor Award recognizes scholarship, activity in student branch affairs, extracurricular and national student activities and the importance of maintaining the good will and respect of associates. Each student engineering branch and student mechanization branch may elect one student branch member for the award.
Score sheet and winning student names must be received at ASABE headquarters by April 20.
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Workshop Will Hone Writing Skills for Grants, Proposals
 An upcoming workshop will be of interest to anyone wishing to polish their skills at writing grants and dissertation proposals.
Join ASABE Fellow Garey Fox, PE, on April 25, at 1 pm eastern, for this informative session. Fox is professor and department head at North Carolina State University and is serving as editor-in-chief for ASABE journals.
The Young Professionals Community is pleased to sponsor this no-cost event.
Register for the workshop.
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ITSC Paper Authors Invited to Apply for Award
The Information Technology, Sensors, & Control Systems (ITSC) technical community sponsors annual paper awards that are presented at ASABE's annual international meeting. This award promotes the development and presentation of high-quality ITSC papers.
Award-winning papers will be selected by the ITSC community from paper proposals that were submitted for the 2023 annual meeting. The deadline for submitting papers is April 20. Find the submission template and instructions on the ITSC award page.
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NRES Terminology Document Open for Collaboration
Do you work in the natural resources, environmental/ecological, or irrigation/drainage areas? Your feedback is needed!
ASABE's Natural Resources and Environmental Systems community is in the process of updating its terminology. Because trends in industry change fast, input from those working in the subject area is encouraged.
If you would like to suggest new terms that should be included, please submit your ideas with our online suggestion form.
Questions? Contact project editor Derek Heeren.
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New Additions to the ASABE Technical Library
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Open Access Articles, Special Collection Articles, New Journal Issues
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Quad City Section Recognizes Members with Annual Awards
We congratulate this year's winners of Quad City section awards, who were recognized at the section's annual awards meeting earlier this week.
From left to right in the accompanying photo are David Smith and Ashley Kruse, named 2023 Member and Young Member of the Year, respectively. The Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award was given to Dustin Westphal, Mike Steele, Cary Hubner, Ken Hermann and Sam Marx, along with Justin Montenguise and Grant Wonderlich (not shown), who were honored for development of the John Deere ExactShot Fertilizer Dosing System.
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Jayas Named to Top Post at Lethbridge
 ASABE Fellow Digvir Jayas has been appointed president and vice-chancellor of the University of Lethbridge effective July 1, 2023. He is the first agricultural engineer to be appointed to such a role in a Canadian higher education institution.
Born and raised in India, Jayas earned a bachelor of agricultural engineering at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, and went on complete a graduate degree and PhD in agricultural engineering at the Universities of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, respectively. He began teaching at University of Manitoba in 1985, eventually ascending to the position of vice president for research and international, which he held for 12 years.
An internationally renowned researcher, Jayas studies the drying, handling and storing of grains and oilseeds, and digital image processing for grading and processing operations in the agri-food industry. From 2002 to 2009, he was a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Stored-Grain Ecosystems, and in 2009 was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2018, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Inducted as an ASABE Fellow in 2005, Jayas is a 41-year member of the Society.
Full story
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2nd Global Evapotranspiration Symposium
 October 23-27, 2023
The Penn Stater Hotel
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, USA
The conference will be held in University Park, Pennsylvania, in October 2023. A full list of sessions is available at the website.
Sponsorship
Interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor at the symposium? We have many levels offered with the ability to customize if you don't see exactly what you want. Sponsorship has perks, like advertising in the program and website, complimentary registration, and optional exhibit space to connect with attendees at the meeting. Let Jessica Bell know if you have questions or are interested in customizing a sponsorship level.
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2023 AETC Photos Document an Exceptional Event
 In February, for the first time in all of its 27 years, the Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference was held in California. The location, the special program additions, and the World Ag Expo made the event truly memorable, and we assembled a small portfolio of photos for your enjoyment. Take a look back at some of the pictures shared.
Mark your calendar for the 2024 conference in Louisville, Kentucky, February 12-14!
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Standards Activities
Proposed Projects
- X641.1, Droplet Size Classification of Aerial Application Nozzles
Revisions
- ANSI/ASAE/NFBA EP559.2, Design Requirements and Engineering Properties for Mechanically Laminated Wood (Mechlam) Assemblies
Press Releases
- 3/1/2023, ASABE Updates Engineering Standard for Mechanically Laminated Wood (Press Release)
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