Simer Virk

The crew has been hustling hard lately to wrap up data collection in our various on-farm #plantertech trials across the state and helping with everything else in between. We are ready for some #restandrecovery and wish everyone a great 4th of July weekend. @AuburnAg #ALExtension

Our new blog post covers some useful tools that can make sprayer calibration (and nozzle selection) easier, faster, and hopefully less frustrating!! @AuburnAg #spraycalibration #nozzleselection #spraytools Sprayer Calibration Tools precisionag.auburn.edu/blog/sprayer-c…

It was a pleasure to have Gaylon Morgan with @CottonInc in Auburn this week & show him different ongoing #precisionag and other projects in cotton. Thanks to Cotton Inc. & Alabama Cotton Commission for supporting these projects and extension activities!! @AuburnAg #alabamacotton

With #plant26 wrapped up, our team has been busy collecting data in different #plantertech studies across the state so we can evaluate the performance of various planter technologies and other treatments. We will be sharing some of this data at the upcoming field days!! @AuburnAg

Meet our team member Sydney Hickman. She is from Fort Payne, AL & is a senior in the Biosystems Engineering major at Auburn University. After graduation next spring, she plans to continue her studies by pursuing an MS degree in Biosys. Engineering with #precag emphasis! @AuburnAg

Back to some #spraydrone testing this week. Thanks to Harris Precision Solutions for hosting us and collaborating on spray coverage, swath and efficacy data collection during real-world herbicide applications with DJI T100!! @AuburnAg @DJIAgriculture

@Sgflint Congratulations to her and the parents!!

This young lady of ours just scored her first big time job in Franklin, TN. Public Relations firm. Super proud to call her my daughter. Huge things coming for her.

Excited to share our latest publication in Remote Sensing (IF: 4.1). The article presents novel approach of Self-Supervised Learning, which significantly reduces the need for labeling the training datasets for machine learning models. The study highlights the framework for UAS-based (RGB) weed detection in soybean using deployment-oriented operational metrics (WCR-AUC). Congratulations to Dhiraj Srivastava (my former student) for leading this work. This activity was funded, in part, with an integrated, internal competitive grant from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. Authors: @Dhiraj_Ruler, @VT_Weeds (Vijay Singh), @RutvijWamanse, Song Li, Kevin Kochersberger, @PrecAgEngineer (Simer Virk), @pappu_k_yadav, @VTCals, @vtspes, mdpi.com/3905848 @MDPIOpenAccess @RemoteSens_MDPI

We are excited to welcome Patton Simbeck to our team as a research intern this summer. Patton is from Loretto, Tennessee, & is pursuing his BS at MS State. We are ready to get Patton involved in all our #precisionag #agtech research, extension, & outreach activities!! @AuburnAg

Another successful #plant26 run this week with multiple cotton (and one soybean) studies in the ground with more grower collaborators and at Auburn research stations across the state. The finish line is so close we can almost feel it! @AuburnAg @DwaineEddie @AlfaFarmers #alcotton

Our team has been busy this week with planting cotton #plantertech trials across the state with some awesome grower collaborators and extension agents!! #plant26 @AuburnAg @DwaineEddie @BlakeLanton @nickmcmichen

With peanut planting underway, here are few tips to ensure seed meters are set up properly for planting peanuts and making in-field adjustments to achieve the desired seeding rate!! #plant26 @AuburnAg @PeanutAlabama

Auburn University and USDA researchers are exploring how drones and AI can transform agriculture—helping farmers make data-driven decisions. Outlying units of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station will be utilized for the research. Read more: bit.ly/4w3gzhP

May 2026 Alabama Cotton Shorts - mailchi.mp/4b5615d2326d/o…

Back at the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland last week continuing #plant26 with peanuts and catching up with Alabama Peanut Producers Association! @AuburnAg #agtechnology #peanuts

Glad we could get the team together last night to celebrate the recent graduates & cherish some moments with all. Congrats Dalton Beasley, Jacob Sizemore, Louie Harris & Emily Ward. Wish you all much success & remember you will always be a part of this team and family!! @AuburnAg

Tales of Cotton Insects: Wednesday April 29, 2026. Rainfall across Alabama significantly changes predicted thrips pressure (in a good way). #ALcrops alabama-insects.blogspot.com/2026/04/tales-…

As another cotton planting season begins, we highly recommend growers consider planting singulated cotton for uniform spacing and efficient use of seed. This video covers different seed plates available for planting singulated cotton!! @AuburnAg #cotton #plant26

Another week of #plant26. We got our soybean studies planted in Central Alabama this week, where we are evaluating various seeding configurations, planter types and seeding rates in these studies!! #plantertech #soybeanplanting @AuburnAg

#plant26 continues…….this week we wrapped up our corn #plantertech studies in Central and South Alabama. Cotton and peanuts are up next!! @AuburnAg #cornplanting