The National Wheat Foundation and National Association of Wheat Growers hosted a bagel breakfast for Ag Day in DC on Wednesday featuring a panel discussion highlighting topics such as biotechnology, sustainability, Big Data and research.
One of the panel participants was Matt Erickson, chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, who talked about Big Data and agriculture.
“When you talk about Big Data, you first have to talk about the benefits of it and how it could revolutionize our industry,” he said. “It increases farmers’ crop yields and decreases their input costs and increases their bottom lines. But once data leaves the farm, it’s important that we address the issues of ownership, usage, privacy and security. Once we get past that, we can also see this Big Data component in agriculture flourish.”
Listen to all of Matt’s comments here: Interview with Senate Ag Committee economist Matt Erickson
