New Governance Committee To Provide Strategic Focus

ADAPT

New Governance Committee to Provide Strategic Focus

By Ben Craker, Portfolio Manager

In response to a need for a more streamlined process for managing AgGateway’s ADAPT Standard, AgGateway has formed the ADAPT Governance Committee. Since the release of ADAPT Standard version 1.0 in June 2024, developers and data managers from around the world have been reviewing the data exchange standard and expressing interest in enhancing it to address some of the biggest data interoperability issues in agricultural field operations. While version 1.0 was designed to address core data exchange related to field operations, additional revisions are forthcoming.

Proposals have come from various regions, including:

  • Improving support for rice paddy field-related operations from Japan
  • Potential to addressing data security as part of ADAPT
  • An AgGateway working group proposing a high-fidelity field boundary addition
  • Aligning a schema to support Modus lab test data exchange with the ADAPT Standard
  • Incorporating ISO 7673-2 Observations and Measurements
  • Enhancing details about machine configurations from field operations
  • Aligning with several European reporting data exchange schemes

Most of the discussions take place on an ADAPT Standard GitHub project. However, it became evident that a governance body with a longer-term, strategic focus would be important for architectural consistency and scope management. This led to the creation of the ADAPT Governance Committee composed of representatives of AgGateway-member companies.

The Governance team kicked off its work mid-February by documenting ADAPT Standard’s core principles. While many principles were informally agreed upon during version 1.0 development, they were never documented. Putting the principles in writing lays the foundation for how ADAPT Standard will grow and evolve. The committee will ensure that the open-source community adheres to these principles, making the ADAPT Standard a more valuable resource for the industry. As more people join the ADAPT community, feedback and adjustments are essential. However, to ensure consistent updates and additions, decisions must be made by a consistent core group of experts.

Finally, the committee will discern questions where the community is unable to reach a consensus. Although this is expected to be a rare occurrence, having a plan in place will help ensure that ADAPT Standard can move forward and meet the demands of the ever-changing agricultural data ecosystem.

Currently, the committee includes volunteers from CNH, Corteva, Endless Wonder Consulting, Farm Belt North, GK Technologies, Leaf, Land O’Lakes, and AgGateway. Participation in the governance committee is open to any AgGateway member, with the only requirement being an active participant in the ADAPT Standard community on GitHub and participation in governance activities. For more information or any questions about the ADAPT Standard, contact Member.Services@AgGateway.org.