The Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 (S. 2343) would create a task force to bring together public and private stakeholders to evaluate current programs affecting broadband internet access on cropland and ranchland.

A cooperative of growers and an agricultural data non-profit have agreed to combine their technology platforms and create a vital resource for data-driven agriculture – a neutral, secure and private data storage repository controlled by growers. The combined platforms will be known as AgXchange and will be an independent data repository commercially available through the Growers Ag Data Cooperative (GADC) where producers can control, store, view and share their farm data assets.

Farmers and ranchers want to control the information their equipment collects every time it passes through a field, a survey released today by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows. Farmers also believe that creating a cooperative-style central repository for their data is the best way to enhance its security and maximize its value.

Farmobile's Data Store allows growers to sell their agronomic and machine data to vetted third parties and guarantees farmers at least $2 per acre, up to 250,000 acres.

Mary Kay Thatcher, Sr. Director with American Farm Bureau Federation and Jeremy Wilson with Crop IMS offer different perspectives on the value for both farmers and dealers of the newly formed Ag Data Coalition (ADC).

A new organization, the Agricultural Data Coalition (ADC), has been announced with the goal of building a data repository where farmers can securely store and oversee the information collected by their equipment.

Agrible Inc. has been appointed to the interim board of a coalition to address the importance of big data privacy, security and transparency for growers and will work to promote security principles for farm data.

Measure has announced the strategic hire of Robert Blair to serve as Vice President of Agriculture.

Talking with farmers, there seems to be a distinct divide between those who are embracing the big data revolution and those who are skeptical of it. One farmer colorfully likened the risk of independent companies or government agencies accessing his data without permission as “a sign of the apocalypse.”