Outreach is Off and Running in 2023

From The President

Outreach is Off and Running in 2023

By Brent Kemp, AgGateway President and CEO

AgGateway is on the move! At least that’s the way the new year feels, with in person meet ups beginning in January, and industry events providing opportunities to connect with members and other stakeholders.

Prairie Meadows in Altoona, IA was the site of the first of three ag retail-focused Connectivity Roadshow events. Ann Vande Lune of Key Cooperative presented an outstanding overview of supply chain connectivity. She, along with Key Coop colleague Eric Hoefing and Matt Garcia of Syngenta, facilitated conversations to identify opportunities for other companies to get connected, as well as learning more about how independent ag retail is making use of technology in their operations. This first session taught us as much as we hoped to teach others. It’s also led directly to another opportunity to be in front of the Iowa Cooperative Council’s CIO panel later this year.

The next day, AgGateway’s Field Boundary Working Group met in the same room for a two-day working session, where the team focused on defining terms related to fields. Members documented their use, limitations, and overlaps, to begin prioritizing our efforts to help the industry come to grips with field-related data interoperability needs and expectations. Representatives from John Deere, Land O’Lakes, SSI, Syngenta, GROWMARK, and IntellinAir all contributed to a very successful and productive meeting. In fact, the group came to an initial agreement on how to define and classify field and field boundaries and the key attributes of each.

The following week, I was fortunate to attend The Vision Conference in Glendale, Arizona, catching up with AgGateway members Ernie Chappell from Ever.Ag, and Jeff Griffeth with Co-Alliance. Several panels called out the need for collaboration and standardization in data interoperability efforts. Our partnership with AEM and AEF was mentioned by Curt Blades, and Aaron Hutchinson with CropTrak called out AgGateway as a place where industry comes together to move interoperability forward. As the staff plans travel calendars for 2023, we’re looking for member input on where we should be to move that message forward. We are also asking for your help to share the work we’ve done and are continuing to do with your internal teams, and we’re prepared to provide the resources you need.

Speaking of partnerships and representation, Conny Graumans, AgGateway’s Europe Regional Director, attended the AEF Tech Week in Amsterdam last month. Ben Craker participated in their in-person meetings last November. And, of course, Andres Ferreyra of Syngenta and Jim Wilson led and contributed to the ISO Strategic Advisory Group on Smart Farming.

In March, I will be part of a panel at the Spring meeting of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO). The discussion will focus on label data in the United States, and I will share the AgGateway perspective on global initiatives in this space.

These are all ways AgGateway engages with other industry stakeholders to align our efforts. As needs for data-informed decision making intersect supply chain, field operations, and post-farm gate processes, the collaborative space and expertise that AgGateway brings to the discussion is ever more relevant.

Thank you to all our members and volunteers who are sharing the efficiencies and successes that collaboration, data interoperability, and B2B connectivity are delivering to your organizations. I look forward to all the opportunities to tell your stories in 2023. See you on the road!