Portfolio Update: Busy Annual Conference on Tap

Portfolio Update

Busy Annual Conference on Tap

By Ben Craker, Portfolio Manager

Buckle up … the end of the year is shaping up to be an extra busy time of year for AgGateway working groups. Last month, several meetups were convened to discuss new topics that will likely lead to new working groups. So be on the lookout for more information about the next steps related to Mix Ticket, PICS, and Dealer Lookup in Ag eStandards.

We also have multiple working groups that are working hard on pulling their deliverables together to have things wrapped up and ready to present at the North America Annual Conference, this year on 11-13 November in Austin TX USA. A few more working groups that are not going to be done by then will focus on wrapping up early in 2025.

Work on Modus is focused on adding some enhancements to how method lists are posted to GitHub. The goal is to improve its utility by enabling some built-in GitHub functionality to more easily identify changes and updates. The team also finalized the manure methods list and is getting ready. for its release – after it completes a few final checks to ensure analytes and other method properties align where appropriate with the version 2 soil methods list. Additionally, the ADAPT team is making good process adding observations and measurements to the ADAPT Standard, leveraging lab test data as the first use case.

Field Boundary GNSS Accuracy has put together a first model on what the “high fidelity” field boundary could look like in ADAPT. The team is also sharing information with another project --FIBOA (Field Boundaries for Agriculture) -- to see if there is an area of potential alignment and collaboration. The team is also creating a best practices and terms and definitions guide for practitioners to leverage during the boundary creation process to help ensure quality boundaries are captured accurately.

The Dairy Feed Data group is wrapping up the last details and clarification on the use cases it has identified. The group is also looking over existing resources from other countries as well as projects like the ICAR ADE to generate the “data buckets” needed to support the information exchange documented in the use cases. The team also continues to build relationships and coordinate with other organizations -- several working group members will be at World Dairy Expo this week to discuss the project and next steps to engage with more companies in the dairy industry.

Data Ethics and Stewardship completed its review of the OpenTEAM Ag Data Storage and Use documents and identified changes and clarifications it would recommend. Several participants from the working group are planning to participate in the “Collabathon” later this year as the OpenTEAM community creates a version 2 of the documents, leveraging the feedback from AgGateway.

The working group is also wrapping up the next iteration of the AgGateway Data Privacy whitepaper. The team expects to have a first draft for the broader membership community to review around the middle of the month. Once that feedback is collected the goal is to have comments incorporated and a final version ready for the Annual Conference.

Entity Identification rules finalized documenting the entity creation process for both the retailer and manufacturer, and compared the processes to ensure they were in sync for how data is collected and shared and when new identifiers are minted. We anticipate a lively discussion at the Annual Conference to work out the details.

The new Modus working group that is moving the plant tissue/botanical methods list to the version 2 structure also kicked off this month. The team is now organized and has a good base to work from on updating the list. This will mark the third matrix that will be updated to the version 2 structure in line with the ISO 7673 observations and measurements framework.

Don’t forget -- if there is a data exchange issue you are struggling with, drop me a note or complete the form here. It could form the basis for a working group that helps address the issue and makes the industry a little better for everyone.

As usual if you have any questions on the activities of any of these working groups, an idea for a new group, or want to get engaged feel free to contact me (ben.craker@aggateway.org), or sign up for a working group here.