Creating Clear Priorities

Portfolio Management Update

Successful MYM Creates Clear Priorities

By Jeremy Wilson, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, North American Director

The AgGateway North American Mid-Year Meeting generated a great release of creative energy from the volunteers who bring new ideas and drive the work on our various projects and initiatives in the Portfolio. While the organization was able to keep projects churning through virtual channels during the pandemic months, there’s truly nothing like getting together in person.

That was immediately apparent from the first breakout session through the end of the final day. Early stage Meet-Ups generated some great ideas and momentum for the future, including the creation of new Working Group launches in the months ahead – look for opportunities to climb aboard these initiatives and make your voice heard.  And existing Working Groups also make progress toward their goals.

And of course, the Mid-Year Meeting had plenty of what it’s famous for – countless “hallway” conversations which will ultimately generate ideas, foster cooperation, and deliver results for the organization. When we come together and work together, great things happen.

Our new Portfolio Manager, Ben Craker, sat in on several sessions at the Mid-Year Meeting and is ready to help these groups be successful. 

Here is a list of current activities within the Portfolio Management Center:

  • WG13 Closed Loop Spray met on 22 June. The group heard presentations on solutions available in various countries as well as a brief overview of various other regulatory or standardization efforts going on around the world related to product labeling and identification.
  • The Agrisemantics Subcommittee met to consider terms/definitions from the Data Linking subcommittee.
  • WG01 In-Field Product Identification submitted Version 1.0 of ShippedItemInstance to Standards and Guidelines.
  • WG03 Product Catalog submitted version 2.4 to Standards and Guidelines, and this version was approved.
  • The Field Boundary Meet-Ups have led to Charter approval for the Field Boundary Subcommittee. This group is looking for volunteers to join them to develop a roadmap for the Field Boundary work.  The first couple Working Groups from this subcommittee should be defined by late summer.

We appreciate all the work that has been completed over the past few weeks.  Please reach out to Ben to welcome him to the staff of AgGateway as Portfolio Manager or for any questions as he begins guiding our volunteers through the process to create new Digital resources for our organization.

Oh, and one more thing before I sign off. At the Mid-Year Meeting, I was disappointed to find out how few of you had prepared for my General Session presentation by completing the “homework assignment” I described in the June edition of this column.

So, I’m giving you another chance to prove your engagement and maybe win a prize. To be eligible, you just need to send me an email and tell me what color the farming shirt was that I was wearing under my work suit. If you don’t remember, you can review my presentation on Facebook. One respondent will be selected at random to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

I look forward to receiving many emails! And hopefully to a renewed commitment to engage with the important work of AgGateway.