Agriculture and Big Data

• Soils, physiologysensor data

• Genetics, genomics, phenotypes, models

• GPS and planter / sprayer / combine data

• Weather and climate data and models

• Image data from machinery, remote sensing

GBs - TBs / plant University library

TBs - PBs/ region

GBs / field /yr Pickup bed full of paper

TBs - PBs / region

PBs - EBs / region

All US academic libraries

Every word ever spokenby every human being

Data type Size in bytesSize analogy

Geo-Eye1 – about 8 terabytes / day

Evolution of SuccessRob Dongoski

Ernst & Young, Global Agribusiness Leader

Key stakeholder mindset…

Key Questions

• Should I share my data with a 3rd party?

• What is the 3rd partydoing with my data?

• Does this make my work easier

• Will this improve farm income?

Data must impact basic formula

Yield x Price - Costs = Farm Income

• Enabler• Monitor• Predictor

Foundation needs set• Data privacy has to be clear• Data standards need established• Ease transfer from tractor to cloud• Pace of larger industry transformation• All stakeholders need to have a clear path

to profits

Big Data and Agriculture

Agrible’s Chris Harbourt, Ph.D.

Geography-as-a-Servicefor

Food and Agriculture

Charles D. Linville, PhD

The Value Chain isMore than Farming

USDA ERS Food Dollar Series, 2013

The Value ChainApproaching the Farm

Farm Assets• Land and buildings

$2.3T• Machinery and

equipment$243B

$42

$76

$29

$17

$12

$16

Selected US Farm Production Expenses in Billions

Livestock and poultry purchased or leased Feed purchased Fertilizer, lime, and soil conditioners purchasedGasoline, fuels, and oils purchased Interest expenseChemicals purchased

Data from USDA Census of Agriculture, 2012

Where are the Farm Operations?

Data from USDA Census of Agriculture, 2012

Where Are Others Working in the Value Chain?

About 300,000 in Food Manufacturing and Ag Implement Production In Illinois and Adjacent Midwestern States Alone

Data from US Department of Labor, 2014

Businesses in Food and Ag Make Important Decisions About

Where to Buy and Sell

Imagine a plant milling 7 Million bushels of corn per year…• What if the average bushel of corn trucked to the plant

didn’t have to go as far?• For every mile saved: about $25,000 per year in truck

freight costs for corn at that mill.*Imagine this in the context of the US and its use of 12 Billion bushels of corn per year domestically …

* We’ll let the economists sort out how much of this savings is enjoyed by who.

Want to continue discussion about where to buy, sell, or act?

Charles Linville, PhDFounder and Presidentlinville@ploughman-analytics.com

2021 S. 1st St. Ste. 206DChampaign, IL 61820(217) 693-4000

Farm Management SoftwareSid Gorham

Granular, CEO & Co-Founder

Software Will Make Farming a Better Business

1. Easier to get more done…– Collaboration– Process improvement– Take on more scale, complexity

2. Easier to make best decisions…– $ yield not bushel yield– Probabilities not recent experience– Acting faster with confidence

It All Starts with Software Adoption

• Until farms run their business in software every day “big data” will have limited impact

• Using farm management software allows them to… – Capture their own farm’s data– Build habit of making and recording decisions in

software– Trust that technology can make good recommendations

Farms Need Data of All Sizes Big Data Industry • How does price/value of land in NE compare

to AK?• What marketing strategy would have

performed best in my area for last 10 years?Medium Data Peer farms • What do my peers pay for similar quantities

of DKC60-67? • What is average contribution margin for 10K

acre farm with my crop mix?

Small Data Single farm • How much risk do I take if I farm 2,000 more acres with same capacity?

• How does margin of crop rotation A compare to crop rotation B?

Granular

Farm Management Software

www.granular.ag

Farmland Analysis Tools www.acrevalue.com