AgGateway Global Network Finishes 2016 Strong; Big Plans for 2017

AgGateway Global Network

AgGateway Global Network Finishes 2016 Strong; Big Plans for 2017 

By Jim Wilson, AgGateway and AgGateway Global Network 

AgGateway (North America) and AgGateway Europe are going strong. AgGateway Latin America is forming. While not news, those points are a reminder that put two exciting developments in global context. 

At AgGateway’s (North America) Annual Conference in November, Professor Kiyoshi Honda from the Chubu Institute for Advanced Studies, Chubu University, shared with a capacity crowd some of the important work taking place in Japan that is complementary to work being pursued in regional AgGateways. During the presentation, Honda proposed beginning the process to establish an AgGateway Japan. In February, in my new role as AgGateway Global Network President, I’ll begin working on this with Honda. I’m also scheduled to visit Japan in May. Honda and Kyohei Ohtsuka of Fujitsu Research have already been collaborating with the SPADE, PAIL, and ADAPT groups on developing a vocabulary scheme for Observations and Measurements that can be used across all regional AgGateways.

Later in November, AgGateway Global Network CFO Rod Conner visited Australia and New Zealand. There is tremendous interest in improving agricultural process efficiencies in New Zealand, and opportunity to leverage AgGateway resources and activities with New Zealand-developed resources appears promising. Animal-related agricultural production is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy. This has not been a focus area of AgGateway (North America), but it is a focus for AgGateway Europe, notably The Netherlands dairy industry. Australian companies were equally interested in AgGateway with the potential near-term application of PAIL work. Conner’s moderate expectations for the trip were far exceeded, further validating the AgGateway (North America) board’s decision to embark on the globalization effort a few years ago.

2017 promises to be an exciting and pivotal year for the AgGateway Global Network! Stay tuned for updates in upcoming newsletters. For more on AgGateway Global Network, click here. 

 

2017 January/February Articles