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House Ag Committee focuses on Big Data

“Big Data and Agriculture” was the focus of a House Agriculture Committee hearing on Capitol Hill this morning.

Among those testifying was Blake Hurst, president of Missouri Farm Bureau.

“The increasingly important role of prescription agriculture and Big Data offer significant opportunities for farmers and ranchers,” Hurst said. “However, we must do everything we can to ensure producers own and control their data, transparently ascertain what happens to data, and have the ability to store the data in a safe and secure location.”

Matt Rushing with AGCO told the committee that learning how to manage and use data is “at the forefront of the next farming revolution”.

“Harnessing this data has the potential to be the next big driver of farm productivity, similar to the transition we saw a hundred years ago when we moved from horses to machinery,” Rushing said.

But expansion of rural broadband internet access, which enables farm equipment connectivity, will be very critical to that process, Rushing said.

Testifying before the committee were: Blake Hurst, president, Missouri Farm Bureau, member of the board of directors, American Farm Bureau Federation, Tarkio, MO; Billy Tiller, director of business development and co-founder, Grower Information Services Cooperative, Lubbock, TX; Dr. Michael K. Stern, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Climate Corporation and Vice President, Monsanto, San Francisco, CA; Matt Rushing, vice president, Product Line, Advanced Technology Solutions, AGCO, Duluth, GA; and Dr. Shannon Ferrell, Associate Professor and Faculty Teaching Fellow, Agricultural Law Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

AUDIO: Opening comments from the five witnesses