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Jul
16
Posted by:
WCM Staff
7/16/2009 10:49 AM
As the new UW-Extension Machinery Systems Specialist, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my career in agriculture. Introducing Matthew Digman
As the new UW-Extension Machinery Systems Specialist, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my career in agriculture. My first experiences in agriculture came from my family’s dairy farm in Mount Hope, WI. There I learned the responsibilities, rewards and challenges involved in an agricultural vocation. My early interest in agricultural equipment led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. For two summers, I held an internship with Knight Manufacturing Corporation, a moderate size manufacturer of agricultural equipment for the dairy and livestock industry, located in Brodhead, WI.
In May 2003, I graduated from MSOE and returned to Kuhn Knight as a full-time design engineer. My efforts at Kuhn Knight resulted in a new product-line, known as the Pro-Push manure spreader, which was introduced to the market in 2004. During this project, I developed and implemented solutions to field issues, oversaw production of prototypes, and worked to develop new models of this product.
In early 2004, I accepted a research assistantship at the University of Wisconsin – Madison under the direction of Dr. Kevin Shinners. Our research included the investigation of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to meet the challenge of predicting moisture in real time on the forage harvester.
I began my Ph.D. work in 2006 at the United States Dairy Forage Research Center (USDA-ARS). My work investigated on-farm storage and chemical treatment as a method of preservation and pretreatment of biomass. By developing in-storage pretreatments at ambient temperature and pressure with prolonged reaction times, we hope to lower pretreatment costs and provide a better return for farmers.
As I start working at the University of Wisconsin – Madison I plan to begin my research and extension work in the area of forage production. To date, I have served on the board of the Wisconsin custom operators. I have also begun an applied research program investigating precision agriculture technologies in forage harvesting, including machine guidance (auto steering), moisture sensing and systems modeling. I also plan to gather data to better understand the costs related to forage harvesting through the collection of both fuel usage and repair and maintenance data for various forage related operations. I would welcome collaboration from anyone interested in these areas.
Challenging as it may be, I look forward to translating published research into a form that is applicable to everyday, on-farm production. Additionally, I look forward to solving agricultural problems by working closely with extension faculty as well as through research that directly relates to farmers’ day-to-day needs.
Sincerely,
Matthew
Matthew Digman
Assistant Professor
Biological Systems Engineering
University of Wisconsin – Madison
460 Henry Mall
Madison, WI 53706
Ph. 608/616-0007
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