Big Tech Takeaways
March 11, 2015 February was an interesting month. My penchant for over commitment during the already busy months of winter came to a head during a two week period last month.
It started with a session at The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) on precision technology and continued a few days later as emcee at the Big Data Workshop in Columbus, OH.
After a blessed week in the office, I headed to Phoenix, AZ, and the Commodity Classic, where again I moderated a panel focused on big data issues.
(I know many of you do the presentation thing like an old-fashioned vaudeville act, covering six cities in seven days to share research, variety recs, etc., so no sympathy for me.)
I’ve gotten pretty immersed in all things data and technology. For TPSA, I provided a historical perspective on the evolution of precision, and shared some data and information I had gathered in five key areas: Robotics, UAVs, irrigation, spray drift and, of course, data.
The Big Data Conference, our second such meeting since last August, drew 200 attendees and featured virtually every segment of agriculture, from grower to manufacturer. Beyond that there were representatives from an incredibly wide range of companies and individuals trying to figure out the data space in ag.
These experiences provided great context as we prepared for the monstrosity of Commodity Classic, and made a few things particularly apparent to me as we enter 2015 in earnest.
The first thing is that interconnectivity of everything — equipment, software, tractors, computers — is likely what will separate the winners from the also-rans in agriculture. From my perspective, the industry has made tremendous strides on this front. But it’s not been nearly enough to convince, for lack of a better term, the “rank-and-file” farmers that are broadly employing technology in all aspects of their operations will make things better/more efficient.
You, the trusted advisers, have been working full-out to help farmers make the difficult, and sometimes impossible, a reality. If we can get the connectivity conundrum out of the way, how much more time could we spend on the real agronomic challenges we have? Who but the heartiest of us want to spend another minute messing with software patches, adapter kits and the heartbreak of “it just won’t work right?”
When stuff works, it will quickly become evident, and growers will gravitate to it — and with the slow and steady generational changeover/color loyalty will take a backseat to flexibility and connectedness.
The second thing is that farmers who aren’t large enough to hire expertise to handle data are going to require trusted partners. Even when things settle down and become more compatible, the best overall solutions are local.
Third, farmers should not point to a lack of obvious return-on-investment from data as a reason not to collect it. This is not a new concept — collect it now and figure out the value later — but we’re truly getting closer to making that value more apparent and more reachable. Valid, retrievable field data is going to have value, be it through sustainability programs or regulatory compliance, or even participation in future supplier-developed programs à la FieldScripts.
Helping growers see the benefits of robust data will be one of the most important services you provide.
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