Ag Retail Meet-Up Covers Connectivity Opportunities in 2020

Ag Retail

Ag Retail Meet-Up Covers Connectivity Opportunities in 2020

By Brent Kemp, AgGateway Executive VP

AgGateway’s ag retail members and other interested member companies met via webinar on March 24 to identify and schedule connectivity opportunities for the current year. An obvious topic kicking off the meeting was the current pandemic, with many AgGateway leaders working from home in support of our essential agriculture industry. Moreover, the group recognized the vital role that AgGateway work represents in these times of crisis – including interoperability of systems and interconnected data streams in both the external supply chain and within companies.

In general for 2020, the group is excited by new messages that can be implemented, new industry segments to connect, and new partners to engage. The group reviewed feedback from a member survey on industry pinch points and energy-related topics. There is general agreement that we need collaborative, industry-supported conversations around standardization of data exchange in the energy segment, and that AgGateway is a good place to start those discussions. Some areas of interest include:

  • Tank level and location monitoring
  • Integration of other sensor data
  • Awareness of logistics messages that may be in use in other segments.

The group also discussed recent outreach to retail associations, including AgGateway participation at the recent meeting of the Canada Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR). We were privileged to have CAAR Executive Director Mitch Rezansoff on the call. Members agreed that AgGateway staff and members should continue to pursue opportunities for speaking and remote presentations on the value of connectivity and implementation.

In looking at work continuing from 2019, the group discussed several possible areas to pursue:

  • Hosting a connectivity implementation session for current and prospective implementers
  • Extending a product data standard format
  • Re-addressing current data exchange implementation in crop protection.

A final topic regarding implementation of the new seed messages developed in 2019 was deferred due to lack of time.

The retail group plans regular Meet-Ups via webinar on the third Tuesday of the month, every other month. The next meeting will take place in May to address the energy opportunities scoped out during the call. We hope this can be a face-to-face session in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For more information and to be included in the ag retail group, contact Member.Services@AgGateway.org.