CDC on H5N1 in Washington and Agtech Jobs on the Rise

From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.

**The Centers for Disease Control is sending a team to Washington state after reports surfaced of four workers who were thought to potentially have bird flu.

They were culling poultry that were suffering from bird flu infection and are presumed to have caught the virus.

If the infections are confirmed, Reuters says Washington becomes the sixth state to identify human cases this year.

The risk to the public remains low.

**A farm in Sonoma County, California had 27 tractor driver positions open and advertised on various job boards, but didn’t get a single applicant for weeks.

Then, the owners bought an autonomous tractor system and updated the job listing to say they were looking for an agtech operator, with “video game experience,” and the applications came rolling in.

Agtonomy CEO Tim Bucher says you’ve opened up a whole new workforce for agriculture.

**One of the main challenges of irrigating crops is when available water sources contain salt and lead to salt accumulation over time, damaging soil fertility.

To address the issue, the Ag Research Service in Riverside, California is using remote sensing and precision technology to aid growers in arid regions.

They’re beginning to apply the techniques of digital and precision agriculture to help growers provide their crops with the water they need without harming them, or the soil.