CSU-TAPS 2024 Celebration Banquet
From announcing winners to seeing data results and making ag industry connections, a CSU-TAPS banquet does a lot in one fun event.
More than 90 people came to the 2024 CSU-TAPS Awards Banquet held at Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center on January 11, 2025. Six CSU-TAPS 2024 winners were announced and presented awards; the official 2024 CSU-TAPS Farm Competition Report was released and handed out; and the CSU-TAPS team presented a program summary review.
Some basic numbers show the exponential nature of the 2024 CSU-TAPS story:
On just one field; there were
26 teams or mini “farms,” with
6 management decisions to make – seed hybrid, seeding rate, irrigation, nitrogen, crop insurance and grain marketing, and
8 data types to reference – plot photos, field scouting, soil moisture monitoring, plant sensors, drone and satellite images, soil and plant sampling, and weather.
The data points generated provide unparalleled insight into precision farm management strategies. A key aspect of the TAPS format is that everyone involved with it learns something. One banquet-goer commented: “One of the real benefits from the TAPS project is learning from farmers, with all their experiences, that can then assist others.”
Equally important, the banquet brought together the hard-working Colorado ag industry and gave them a chance to connect.
“It’s not just about presenting information,” said Amy Kremen, Irrigation Innovation Consortium associate director, which manages CSU-TAPS. “The banquet is about actually getting to see people. It’s about TAPS team bonding, celebrating the people who support it, and making new connections and collaborations.”
The banquet also exposes newcomers to TAPS, giving a program overview and what it does. It helps recruit new participants, competitors and ag industry partners. And it’s a learning experience, where everyone involved sees the results and can draw conclusions about the interactions of field, weather, seed, and management decisions.
The TAPS format involves all aspects of farming – producers, ag tech, seed providers, researchers, crop insurance and marketing, government agencies, students, and more – from across Colorado. And they showed up in force January 11, to support this innovative program in Colorado.
Interested in being a part of CSU-TAPS for 2025? Find the interest form at this link.
Story and photos by Christine Hamilton; click on photos for slide show and captions
