Posted June 24, 2014
Iowa farm
and community organizations are supporting a project that will “harness the
power of agricultural data to the benefit of farmers,” according Iowa Soybean
Association (ISA) release available here.
Brownfield Ag News also published the article here
and Pork Network here.
The “Big
Data Strategy and Implementation Plan” is backed by Iowa AgState and was
developed by the Hale Group of Danvers, Mass. The plan aims to immediately
obtain all relevant facts about how agricultural data is collected, shared,
analyzed, and used.
Brian
Kemp, ISA president and AgState chair, said that Big Data is not a new issue
for agriculture, but the ability to collect, interpret, and manipulative data
is an increasing issue that requires action.
“This
project will be conducted at the strategic level addressing many components,
namely data ownership and control,” said Kemp, who farms near Sibley. “By harnessing
the knowledge of existing data and how it can be used, farmers can influence
policy more effectively, develop appropriate user and privacy agreements and
drive mutually beneficial relationships with those whom we do business.”
Dean Lemke, nutrient management and environmental
stewardship director of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa and member of the
AgState Big Data task force, said the project complements other regional and
national projects focused on similar issues.
“The Hale Group has unique capabilities to do the work to
benefit the greater industry,” Lemke said. “They will do a thorough job of
gathering information from many sources on the topic of Big Data, define what’s
most meaningful to farmers and how they can capitalize on it and then share
these findings with all stakeholders.”
Farmers do not wish to “stop Big Data,” however, they wish
to influence the way it is developed and introduced to growers, said Bob Ludwig
of The Hale Group.
For more information on checkoff programs, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
