Slides from Big Data 2015

1. Agriculture and Big
Data

2. • Soils, physiology
sensor 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 spoken
by every human being
Data type Size in bytes Size analogy
Geo-Eye1 – about 8 terabytes / day

3. Evolution of
SuccessRob Dongoski
Ernst & Young, Global Agribusiness
Leader

5. Key stakeholder mindset…
Key Questions
• Should I share my data
with a 3rd party?
• What is the 3rd party
doing with my data?
• Does this make my work
easier
• Will this improve farm
income?

6. Data must impact basic formula
Yield x Price - Costs = Farm Income
• Enabler
• Monitor
• Predictor

7. 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

8. Big Data and
Agriculture
Agrible’s Chris Harbourt, Ph.D.

11. Geography-as-a-Service
for
Food and Agriculture
Charles D. Linville, PhD

12. The Value Chain is
More than Farming
USDA ERS Food Dollar Series, 2013

13. The Value Chain
Approaching 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 purchased
Gasoline, fuels, and oils
purchased
Interest expense
Chemicals purchased
Data from USDA Census of Agriculture, 2012

14. Where are the Farm Operations?
Data from USDA Census of Agriculture, 2012

15. 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

16. 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.

17. Want to continue discussion about
where to buy, sell, or act?
Charles Linville, PhD
Founder and President
linville@ploughman-analytics.com
2021 S. 1st St. Ste. 206D
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 693-4000

18. Farm Management Software
Sid Gorham
Granular, CEO & Co-Founder

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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?

22. Granular
Farm Management Software
www.granular.ag
Farmland Analysis Tools
www.acrevalue.com