Coming off its most successful year in 2014, this year’s InfoAg conference aims to provide a platform for the industry’s marquee retailers, researchers and farmers to share ideas and expand their knowledge on agricultural business tactics and innovations. Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, Mo., will play host to the 3-day event July 28-30, featuring showcases, seminars and interactive workshops on the latest precision farming technology and retailer management strategies. 

With global representation from agricultural community, conference secretary Quentin Rund says the event will offer diverse opportunities to learn about the latest innovations and connect with industry leaders.

“The biggest thing attendees will gain is the opportunity to network,” Rund says. “That’s been the strength of the conference. We have plenty of speakers who are talking about their success with precision ag and how they’re using it from a lot of different perspectives, from growers all the way to big agri-business. 

“It’s a lot of information to take in, but through the exhibit halls, breaks, receptions and lunches, attendees get to meet a lot of different people.”

Among all the information being shared is an emphasis on technology and data analysis with precision farming techniques. 

“Dealers can come in and learn more about how both growers and other retailers are looking at the data, and that may give them other ideas for innovative data analysis with their own producers and customers,” Rund says. “We’ve got some really good agronomists lined up, talking about how they’re looking at the data, some big-time data analysts who look at huge data sets and some retailers too, who will be talking about their own experience.”

Complementing the presentations will be corresponding interactive workshops for participants to put new concepts into practice. One notable addition to the workshops is a forum where representatives from startup companies will discuss how they built their operations from the ground up and what their next steps should be. 

The opening day of the conference will feature a presentation from futurist David Zach. Representing clients including Apple and IBM, Zach will provide a deeper look into how previous and current precision trends can help dealers and farmers prepare for future environmental and business endeavors. 

Also presenting on the final day of the conference is Planet Labs CEO Will Marshall who will discuss the company’s satellite remote system technology, which aims to replace the current models scanning the earth for agricultural research.  

For more information on the conference, visit http://www.infoag.org/.