September Working Group Round-Up

Portfolio Management Center

September Working Group Round-Up

By Dan Berne, AgGateway Portfolio Manager

Here’s a brief summary of AgGateway’s Working Group activities this month, starting with the latest news. Want to get involved or start a group? Contact Member Services at Member.Services@AgGateway.org.

Quarterly Portfolio Review on Sept 22

I will be providing the first in a series of quarterly reviews of AgGateway's working group activities on September 22 at 9:00 am Chicago time, and all AgGateway members are invited to attend. This will include a recap of work completed and resources submitted to the Digital Resource Center, as well as work activities underway, and a look at what's next from AgGateway's current working groups. Look for the GoTo Webinar URL on the AgGateway calendar.

Annual Conference

Many of the working groups are gearing up for discussion of the next phases of their work during the Annual Conference in Nashville in November, so be sure to attend and contribute your ideas and input!

In-Field Product Identification group (WG 01), together with the In-Field Product ID Plugins group (WG08) are putting the final touches on their video that highlights their work in tracking seed product from the manufacturer out to an equipment display in the field. The video will be shown at the AgGateway Annual Conference and promoted through other marketing and social media outlets. Join them at the Annual Conference if you are interested in helping define the next phase of work.

Agrisemantics (WG 00)

The group continues to work with the Data Linking working group on controlled vocabularies. They also continue to assist the Agricultural Lab Data working group on controlled vocabularies for plant tissue.

Agricultural Laboratory Data (WG 04)

The working group has completed its models for soil health and manure. They are now working on botanical matter, such as plant tissue and water analysis. The team noted that Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) companies will drive adoption. Their goal remains to complete the Modus work and publish the tables via a standardized API and schema before the Annual Conference.

Farm Inputs: Reference Data (WG 06)

The group has completed a reference data model on crop protection and a Resource Development Framework (RDF) architecture on crop protection. These efforts were led by AgGateway member Lexagri-Wageningen University. The next step is to submit these deliverables to the Portfolio Management Center (PMC). Once that is completed satisfactorily, the PMC will hand off the digital resource to the Digital Resource Center.

Farm Inputs: Work Order and Work Record (WG 07)

The group has completed its modified version of the enriched SMAG data model for crop protection. The next step is to submit these deliverables to Portfolio Management Center for review.

Data Linking (WG 09)

The group has paused, as it awaits technical support from within the members’ organizations.

Integração Dados Laboratório Solos – Latin America Regional Soil Lab Data Integration (WG 11)

The group has validated its scope and has begun reviewing the Modus model relative to tropical soil requirements. The chair, Ronaldo Oliviera, continues as an active participant in WG04.

Precision Irrigation - PAIL (WG 12)

The team was unable to complete its case study during the irrigation season. Members continue to work on completing Part 2 - Observations and Measurements.

Second Potato Provenance Meet Up Scheduled for Sept 23

A second meet-up for companies and organizations interested in the goal of tracking a specific batch of harvested potatoes to the field is scheduled for Thursday, September 23 at 9:00 am Chicago time. The group will discuss their requirements and review an outline of potential work. European participants agreed that the first objective would be to gather as much field data about the potatoes as possible, including name, location and geometry of the field. Participants at the meet-up will further define the goals and objectives of the project.

In the Pipeline:

Closed Loop Spraying

There is interest in forming a working group around the topic of closed loop spraying. The intent is to create a system/protocol that ensures compliance and minimizes mistakes, by creating a way for the OEM machine, the farm management system and the input product to talk to each other. This is similar to an initiative by Crop Life Europe and others. A meeting is to be scheduled this fall.

Water Use and Water Quality Management

There is strong interest in carbon sequestration and understanding what data is required in agriculture and how that data can be seamlessly shared. This is tied closely with water quality management data by feedlots, commodity buyers, FMIS companies, etc. This topic will be discussed at the Annual Conference in November. Look for more details on the conference agenda and please plan to attend if you’re interested.