Arlington, VA [November 23, 2021] – AgGateway hosted more than 125 attendees in Nashville this month for its Annual Conference, its first in-person event in two years and an opportunity for the industry to collectively move the ball forward on digital connectivity efforts, as well as to honor outstanding individuals in digital agriculture.
“I was excited about the energy I saw throughout the event,” said Brent Kemp, who will take over as President and CEO of AgGateway on January 1, with the announced retirement of Wendy Smith. “Rooms were packed with good interaction, and attendees were having engaged and constructive conversations on key challenges we’ve identified. This conference sets us up well for a very productive 2022.”
AgGateway leadership and member attendees took time during the conference to honor outstanding volunteers. The most prestigious recognition, the 2021 Ron Storms Leadership Award for outstanding and sustained organizational participation, was presented to Scott Nieman, Expert Enterprise Architect for Land O’Lakes. In presenting the award, Smith pointed to Nieman’s activity in working groups that delivered messages, APIs, and implementation guidelines linking manufacturers, distributors, retailers and field equipment as “truly proving the promise of AgGateway resources to enable data to flow like water.
“He is a consistent voice championing interoperability tools for developers, challenging us to continue providing value to member companies,” she continued, adding that Nieman serves as an effective ambassador in the industry, “promoting AgGateway as a place where good work is being done.”
The President’s Award recognizes individuals that have gone above and beyond in the support of AgGateway and its mission to develop the resources and relationships that drive digital connectivity. The 2021 recipient is the ADAPT Leadership Team of Dan Danford, CNH Industrial; Kelly Nelson, Farmbelt North; and Stuart Rhea, Syngenta Digital.
In calling ADAPT “One of AgGateway’s most important resources and biggest success stories,” Smith noted that ADAPT’s success “has been enabled by dedicated volunteers across the world and guided by steady leadership.”
Danford from CHN Industrial leads the ADAPT Business Team, which focuses its activities around effectively communicating the value of ADAPT to the industry. “Dan has been relentless in identifying and addressing misunderstandings and seeking out opportunities across myriad industry events to tell the ADAPT story,” said Smith.
Nelson and Rhea lead the ADAPT Technical Team. “Their technical expertise is matched only by their unbiased and patient management of ADAPT’s highly complex code base,” said Smith.
The three main ADAPT packages have accumulated more than 150,000 downloads, a testament to ADAPT’s value and utility. “We never cease to be amazed by the collaborative spirit among the army of developers and system architects that build and maintain ADAPT,” Smith said.
Finally, the 2021 AgGateway in Action award winners were acknowledged at the conference. One individual volunteer is selected from each of the organization’s three regions who has demonstrated commitment to moving AgGateway’s mission forward in the past year. Recipients are selected by the regional steering committees from member-contributed nominations. The 2021 recipients are:
Next year’s Annual Conference will be held November 14-16 at the Windham Grand Clearwater Beach in Florida.
AgGateway thanks its Annual Conference sponsors, including Titanium Sponsors: Proagrica and TELUS Ag; Platinum Sponsors: BASF and Nutrien Ag Solutions; Hometown Sponsor: EFC Systems; Gold Sponsors: EFC Systems, Bayer, and Corteva Agriscience; Silver Sponsors: Rosen’s Inc. and SSI; Gateway to Ag Careers Sponsors: The AgCIO Roundtable and Syngenta; Keynote and General Session: GROWMARK and Key Cooperative; Break Out Sessions: ACS, Co-Alliance, DXC, The Equity, and SSI; and additional support from EFC Systems, DXC and BASF.
More on AgGateway activities and how to become involved can be found at www.AgGateway.org or by contacting Member.Services@AgGateway.org or (+1) 866-251-8618.
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AgGateway is a non-profit organization that develops the resources and relationships driving digital connectivity in global agriculture and related industries. www.AgGateway.org
Contact:
Susan Ruland AgGateway +1 (202) 742-5967, ext. 10 susan.ruland@AgGateway.org