Farmer Feedback: Tech Hub LIVE Panel Weighs In on Data Management, Ag Tech Adoption
During this week’s conference and expo in Des Moines, Tech Hub LIVE attendees heard from some farmers in the field about topics such as autonomy, data management, and implementing climate-smart agriculture (CSA).
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Kyle Daeley, Associate Director- Food & Agriculture, Publicis Sapient, moderated the Farmer Panel General Session featuring Jason Kieser, Creekwood Ag, Illinois; Doug Applegate, Applegate Acres, Iowa and Praxidyn; and Scott Henry, LongView Farms, Iowa. All three are actively involved in improving ag technology.
Kieser, who is CEO of a full-time production row crop operation, believes he will see true autonomous farming in his generation because it is becoming necessary. “Labor’s becoming a tougher thing to find, it’s getting expensive,” said Kieser. “It’s a very real concern….I think it’s going to be necessary to be able to cover the acres we need to cover.”
When it comes to data management, Henry thinks farmers have somewhat moved on from data privacy concerns and have gotten a little calloused. “I’m probably more willy-nilly with my data now,” he said. “If we’re going to work with you, great, I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.”
Applegate has been actively involved with AgGateway for more than a decade and he sees the data standardization connections accelerating. “You think about something like ‘what is a field?’. That takes some time to define but everybody needs to have that standardized perception of that,” said Applegate. “Agriculture is complex. It’s like boiling the ocean.”
Carbon capture and its role in climate smart agriculture is also a hot topic for farmers right now, especially those who have already been implementing sustainable practices for years and have concerns with being left out of programs designed to reward improvement.
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