Farmers are gathering data on millions of acres of active farmland, but much of that data is not being integrated into decision-making tools for farmers and researchers. Much of the data gathered and analyzed in public research to date are not easily accessible and the agriculture industry lacks a sufficiently trained workforce to take full advantage of the vast amounts of data available today. This project aims to provide resources to help translate this wealth of data into real-world applications in agriculture through a community-driven, open source framework.
The research team is being led by Principal Investigator (PI) James Krogmeier, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. He and his team will conduct research on this project through Purdue’s Open Agricultural Technology and Systems (OATS) Center.
“The digital nature of the ag-food system from this point forward is clear,” said Krogmeier. “This Center’s activities, in addition to the research and outreach, will facilitate better graduates in the digital agriculture realm.”
Dennis Buckmaster, co-PI on the project and Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering says: “The blend of collaborators from different disciplines and the external stakeholders contributing to this project is a solemn reminder that the issues and problems we need to address are complex. It will require significant innovation and outreach to make the strides needed.”
Researchers on this project, “An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms,” include:
- Aaron Ault, Senior Research Engineer of Open Agriculture Technology and Systems Group at Purdue University
- Larry Biehl, Systems Manager of Research Computing at Purdue University
- Dennis Buckmaster, Ph.D., Assistant Dean and Associate Director of the Office of Academic Programs, Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering and Dean’s Fellow for Digital Agriculture at Purdue University
- James Camberato, Ph.D., Professor of Agronomy at Purdue University
- Melba Crawford, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Engineering for Research, Professor of Agronomy, Civil Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Purdue University
- Amanda Deering, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Sciences at Purdue University
- Richard Grant, Ph.D., Professor of Agronomy at Purdue University
- Haley Oliver, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Food Science at Purdue University
- Amy Reibman, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University
- Dharmendra Saraswat, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering at Purdue University
- Mark Tucker, Ph.D., Professor of Youth Development and Agricultural Education at Purdue University
- Mark Ward, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics at Purdue University
This project is supported by FFAR through its Seeding Solutions grant program, which calls for bold, innovative and potentially transformative research proposals in the Foundation’s seven Challenge Areas. This grant supports the Forging the Innovation Pathway to Sustainability Challenge Area, which aims to increase the production and accessibility of nutritious foods.
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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
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