AGCO Testifies on Big Data in Agriculture

By Abby Burton

AGCO was invited to testify in front of the House Agriculture Committee that took place October 28, 2015. In announcing the Full Committee public hearing, Big Data and Agriculture: Innovation and Implications, Chairman K. Michael Conaway explained that the hearing would be a forum for stakeholders to explain what big data means to their business and how it is changing the agriculture marketplace.
As one of five expert witnesses, and representing the only machinery company on the panel, Matt Rushing, vice president, Global Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) Product Line at AGCO, offered perspective into the area of agriculture data: what it is, the potential it holds for helping growers increase productivity, some challenges the industry faces and, most importantly, the exciting opportunity to help growers leverage their data effectively.

In Rushing’s written and verbal testimony on behalf of AGCO, he explained how new, precision agriculture technologies are creating tremendous amounts of data that has so far not been utilized by most growers. Being able to harness this generated data has the potential to be the next big driver in productivity gains. Smart, connected machines and growers’ ability to effectively manage and use farm data is at the forefront of the next farming revolution. With these changes, states AGCO’s testimony, shared standards for accessing, processing and ownership of this data must be agreed upon.

The testimony highlights some challenges, and what AGCO is doing in the space. With challenges such as technical barriers and adoption, it is up to leaders in the ag industry to develop and advocate for technology that achieves a secure, standardized yet adaptable environment, and keeping data sharing choices open, so growers can use it how they want to maximize its potential. Ownership is a key piece of farm data discussion. AGCO asserts that the farmer owns and should have control and responsibility for the data generated by his or her operation. In an effort to further respect growers’ data privacy choices, AGCO has separated its data pipelines; one for machine data, and on for more sensitive agronomic data. The agronomic data pipeline is not aggregated, evaluated or stored by AGCO other than to facilitate the transfer between the machine and the software chosen by the grower.

“Agriculture data is the ultimate grower tool to minimize risk and increase profitability while enabling them to become better stewards of the land,” said Rushing in the testimony. “AGCO’s focus is on helping growers make sense of their data, and we were honored to be asked to testify representing the machinery side of the industry,” he said.

AGCO’s testimony closes in saying it is an exciting time to be a part of the agriculture industry, and calls attention to “an unprecedented level of cooperation among farmer advocacy groups, industry associations, biotech companies, equipment manufacturers and technology providers – all coming together to help growers utilize data to feed the world.”

To download a white paper of Matt Rushing’s testimony, click here.

Click here to view the recorded hearing.

For more information about Fuse, AGCO’s open approach to precision agriculture, visit www.AGCOtechnologies.com.

Abby Burton is a marketing communications specialist for AGCO’s Advanced Technology Solutions group, focusing on delivering the Fuse message to customers, dealers, employees and investors.