Hello! Today was much lighter than yesterday but still packed with fun activities. Today the group took a train to Utrecht, which is a city located south of Amsterdam. Here, we got to meet with Aurea Imaging, which is an agriculture imaging company that uses drones and other cameras to analysis crop production. The analyzed data is then used to increase crop production and the profits for the farmers. The building that the company is located in was very fascinating. The building is for many small companies and these companies rent rooms to hold meetings in, but it was home to a large patio and even a gym. I would love to work in that environment as it felt very homey.

The company was able to talk to us about the work they do and the direction they are trying to take. For now, they really only work with large corporation farms, since the technology that they use can be expensive for a small farmer. The technology that I found the most useful was the weed killer. They would take a drone to map out where the weeds were in the farm and then program a weed killer to only release the toxins in the areas where the weeds where. This saves energy and uses less waste. I was also impressed by how much data they can input at once. We were shown one of their cameras that can analyze small trees on the farm and it was constantly scanning data within milliseconds. I think if they can expand their business to other farmers outside of corporations then they could have a lot of success in the future.

After the company visit, we got to walk around Utrecht and visit some of its important sites. My favorite thing to see was the cathedral located in the town center. I love walking into old European cathedrals and admiring the architecture. I even got to light my own candle and listen to Frank explain some of the history behind the church. It’s always interesting to see how much history can go behind one singular building. We ended our time in Utrecht with some ice cream courtesy of Dr. Bursic and Frank (thank you both!!!). The town is much quieter than Amsterdam but I am excited to get some dinner in the bustling city!