Morning y’all. Today’s start was at 9 am. I actually woke up very easily today but I am starting to get very worn down. I am feeling the effects of little sleep and all of that walking so i’m afraid i’m getting kinda sick.
However, we took a tram and a train to go to Utrecht and visit with Aurea imaging. They specialize in using drones to obtain visual data of farmers’ crops and then analyze it. This then allows farmers to spot treat their crops. For example, they can program a sprayer to only spray certain parts of their crops instead of having to spray the whole plot. This allows farmers to be more sustainable by saving their pesticides and fertilizers for only the crops that need it. It also will limit the amount of chemicals used in general in agriculture which can be good for both the environment and our food supply.
Aurea offers multiple specialized products especially with crops like apple and pear orchards and potatoes. It’s a pretty small company but they have found a market with the precision farming industry. Their products can also be used to determine the blossom density of trees in orchards so farmers can decide what to prune in order to obtain their desired yield.
I really liked their latest design of trying to make a product that farmers can place on their tractors. They would then be able to create imagining of their crops themselves very easily. It was also very interesting to hear about how they try to market to their customers. Because of the nature of agriculture, their products yield results over many years. Therefore, they have to market to their customers that their product is an investment for the future. For this reason, it seems that they offer packages or bundles that extend over multiple years.
We then got a tour of the building and had lunch at their buffet. The building felt like an incredible work environment. It was very bright and had very nice facilities including a very nice gym they can use for free. I would love to work at a place like that in the future.
After we ate, we then got a walking tour of the city. I absolutely loved the architecture of the area. I also loved how the area we were in had such narrow streets so that there was only walkin traffic and bikes. We walked through a gorgeous tunnel and toured the city’s big church. Both were absolutely beautiful. After the walking tour, we got to explore on our own.
First, we stopped at a yarn store. I have decided to refuse to buy any more yarn unless I have a specific project in mind but I did really enjoy stopping in to look at and touch all of the gorgeous yarns. We also stopped at a cute little jewelry store and then I found a store that sells sheet music. Back home, I haven’t been able to find anything like this. This store had walls full of sheet music for most instruments so we stopped to look through them. I ended up purchasing three items. One of which is a set of flute tango etudes by my current favorite composer, Astor Piazolla. From there, we walked through the city some more and walked into interesting shops. We then made our way back to Amsterdam on the train.
The seats we found on the train were actually in the silent cabin. I did not know those existed but it was such a lovely environment to relax and take a small nap. After the train, we went to get dinner at a cute sushi restaurant. I am quite tired and in need of recovery so I am gonna rest for the rest of the night. See ya <3