A recent news release from the Council on Food, Agriculture & Resource Economics (C-FARE) indicated that, “[C-FARE], the national non-profit organization that channels information from the agricultural economics profession to policy-makers and the public, has released a report on Big Ag. Data. The report, entitled Advancing U.S. Agricultural Competitiveness with Big Data and Agricultural Economic Market Information, Analysis, and Research, was authored by a multidisciplinary team of economic and engineering scientists. Authors Keith Coble (Mississippi State University, Department of Agricultural Economics) and Terry Griffin (Kansas State University, Department of Agricultural Economics) released the document at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Data Science in Agriculture Summit.
“Coble, Griffin and co-authors, including Mary Ahearn (retired USDA-ERS), Shannon Ferrell (Oklahoma State University, Department of Agricultural Economics), Jonathan McFadden (USDA-ERS), Steve Sonka (University of Illinois, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics), and John Fulton (Ohio State University, Department of Food Agricultural and Biological Engineering), examine Big Ag. Data’s potential, challenges and opportunities, as well as future research questions and approaches for extension and outreach.
“The paper adds context to the growth trajectory of Big Ag. Data technologies, identifies policy and science questions, and reviews the limitations of, and opportunities for, greater use of Big Ag. Data and Big Ag. Data analytics.”
An executive summary of the report is available here, while the complete report can be found here.
