Top Priorities in the 2027 Plan

From The President

Top Priorities in the 2027 Plan

By Brent Kemp, AgGateway President and CEO

This year has sped by about as fast as you would expect, with all working group activity, virtual meetings, and in-person outreach that has taken me to all three AgGateway global regions. And as we close out the third quarter, the focus begins to shift as the organization plunges into planning for 2027.

The input and ideas you shared at various meetings thus far have laid the groundwork for the tactics supporting our five-year plan – Implement, Impact, Advocate. You’ll hear more about them all later this month and in early October during our webinars, and that will be the time to provide your feedback. Watch for communications regarding these virtual meetings that we will send later this month.

Until then, though, here are just a few of the items we’re looking at for 2027:

  1. Working groups focused on messages, resources, and implementation. We clearly heard that member companies are looking for easier ways to find, understand, and implement the messages and guidelines. We’ll be initiating working groups to generate the use cases and requirements that member business contacts and developers alike need to quickly move from planning to production.
  2. Enhancements to messages and resources to align with current business needs. Whether the issue is new reference data requirements, aligning metadata and element attributes to evolving identifiers, or supporting multi-regional requirements in existing resources, AgGateway is committed to ensuring that tools and standards are functional in today’s business environment.
  3. Education, outreach, and awareness. Business, technical, and regulatory perspectives all inform the work we do collaboratively. AgGateway will be present at regional, national, and international events advocating for principles development and implementation of collaborative industry standards. Staff and member volunteers telling their stories and influencing their networks will result in wider awareness of the tools available and the value that implementation brings in process efficiencies, business cost reductions, and actionable insights driven by quality, timely data.

AgGateway has many successes to show for the past six years. Since the implementation of the current working group-focused organizational arrangement and the consolidation of the regional AgGateways into a single entity, we’ve worked together to develop and publish standards and tools that address key agriculture needs. And we’ve done so while controlling costs and stewarding member funds effectively while not raising dues or fees.

That said, the reality is that virtually every business and organization operating in agriculture has experienced significant increases in service costs, software subscriptions, and other costs of doing business in that time. While we will continue to manage resources carefully, we do anticipate that member dues will see a modest increase on 2027. However, we do not plan to increase AGIIS fees.

This is your organization, and the work we intend to do in 2027 relies on your input and your commitment to develop and implement the messages and tools we develop together. You’ve provided the input. Your volunteer leaders on the Board and in regional Steering Committees are crafting the tactical plans. Together, we’ll move the organization and the industry forward, benefitting from efficient processes and discovering new uses for the data being collected and shared. On behalf of the board, I look forward to your input and feedback as we continue through the planning process. Let us know what you’re excited about and where you want to get involved.