Why an Independent Data Community Is So Important in Agribusiness
Independent • /ɪndɪˈpɛnd(ə)nt/ . “Free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority.” (Oxford Dictionary).
With most discussions on social media, television, and life in general right now seemingly focused on just a few topics, like Covid-19 and the recent election, I very much welcomed the opportunity to talk shop with some growers, agronomists, and ag retailers in both Australia and the U.S. over the past few weeks, writes Agworld’s Reinder Prins at PrecisionAg. Agriculture is, fortunately, one of the few industries that is still functioning with as much normality as possible, and it’s great to hear everyone discussing next year’s plans already. For our industry, one thing is sure: growers are at the center of food production, no matter what happens around us.
The common theme in all discussions last week was agricultural data, what everyone’s expectations are, how industry stakeholders feel agricultural data should be utilized moving forward, and what the next frontier is for agricultural data to deliver more value to growers and all their business partners.
While the digital transformation of agriculture has been underway for numerous years, many growers, agronomists, and ag retailers told me they feel like they’re still stuck in the first phase of the digital transformation: data collection. And, while data collection is an integral part of the process, it’s not until this process is humming and the data storage component (second phase) is in place, that the rewarding third phase can start: data utilization.
The main reason for why the people I spoke to hadn’t moved on in the process yet, is that they feel it’s difficult to find somewhere they’re comfortable with storing their data and where they’re able to use this data for their own benefit. Data in this case can be anything like machinery data, IOT device data, agronomic data, financial data, crop management data, etc. So, my natural next question to them was: “what will it take for you to feel comfortable with a provider that offers data storage?” and the answers were surprisingly aligned.
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