MILWAUKEE – The Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) announced July 14 the formation of a project team to develop the new Agriculture Interoperability Network (AgIN). The team will be creating AgIN guidelines for data formats with the intent of simplifying data sharing for end users, growers and operators.
The AgIN project team is made up of approximately 60 participants from various AEF member companies from different corners of the globe. AEF members will be able to use AgIN to make sure their data flows through this whole network.
“The AEF member companies are comprised of the brightest and best the ag industry has to offer, and the AEF is thrilled to bring this team together to solve this important issue,” said Andrew Olliver, Vice Chairman, AEF. “The ability to manage the farm more effectively revolves around the ease of getting all of the data into the best location for reporting and analysis, and to derive insights for future operations.”
The network will be a concerted and non-discriminatory governed network that streamlines peer–to-peer interfaces between platforms, but unlike the multitude of solutions on offer today, the AgIN ensures reliability and trust of the services in the network.
“While there are a number of solutions on the market today which enable multiple platforms to exchange data, there is still no standardized and community governed connection for the agriculture industry,” said Olliver. “AgIN is really just one level higher than current solutions to bring interconnectivity in the clouds.“
In the future, to be able to use the AgIN network, each participant must be registered as a member in the network and then certified for conformity for each of the services they want to provide to the network. When platforms want to connect they must first do the security handshake to verify that the other platform is certified and for which services. Telematics data or task data are just some
examples of the services that each platform could be providing or consuming.
AgIN is scheduled to be introduced at Agritechnica in Hanover in November 2023. After the introduction, AEF members will have access to the guidelines to be able to start building their software to these guidelines and standards. If you work for a company that is an AEF member and have an interest in AgIN, you are welcome to volunteer time to support the AgIN team.
