Taking Data Head On

As you read this column, I’m hoping that if you picked up the phone and gave me a call, you’d find me still basking in the glow of our recent successful one-day conference on data platforms. About 260 individuals attended this first edition of what we called the “PrecisionAg Innovation Series.”

When we dreamed up the idea for this meeting (“Data Platform Sol­utions: Turning Information Into Knowledge”), I thought I had a pretty good handle on where attendees would be coming from — retailers like you, consultants, a handful of really progressive farmers, equipment and precision technology manufacturers, Extension and university type and a few folks from outside the industry.

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What we had is an incredibly eclectic mix of professionals from just about everywhere. Ernst & Young was in the house, as was a representative from the Harvard Business School. IBM showed up, as did representatives from Syngenta, Bayer CropScience and BASF. Sure, retailers committed to attend, but not in the numbers I was hoping for. Especially considering some of the discussions I had leading up to the conference.

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There are scores of companies making a play in “agriculture data” on a variety of levels. There are the all-encompassing efforts from the likes of John Deere and Trimble, and likely rollouts to come from basic manufacturers in the not-too-distant future.

Then, there are literally dozens of smaller entities offering data collection and/or analysis tools. At the InfoAg Conference in July, they were everywhere, and many of them came with very compelling stories of value and return-on-investment.

But it quickly becomes a confusing morass: What each offering can deliver? What it’s compatible with? What upgrade paths exist? Does it work as well with smaller operations as it does with larger ones? I don’t envy anyone who’s trying to sort all of this out.

Fortunately, we’re seeing some collaboration among the many players, and “collaboration” was the big buzzword at the InfoAg Conference. At a pre-conference meeting held by SST Software, one of its big announcements was the company’s purposeful development of APIs that allow other software providers to access data. As SST CEO Matt Waits said: “We don’t have to do it all. We can partner with companies and add value for end-users.”

There’s a lot going on, and a lot to learn about what’s happening with agricultural data. Retailers are doubly challenged — we need to ensure our own house is in order, that it’s compatible with the various supplier offerings in the market and that we’re aligned with what our growers are currently using. It’s a difficult place to be, but where there is uncertainty and confusion, there is also opportunity, especially for those who serve as the “trusted adviser” in the market.

You’ll get a leg up on the competition if you get yourself up to speed on data platforms, challenge suppliers to improve compatibility, and help grower-customers navigate through the clutter.

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