FOA 226: The Problem with Farm Data

10/07/20 • 31 min

We talk a lot about data in agriculture. Yield data, aerial data, weather data, soil data, data interoperability, data ownership, and on and on and on. What we’re not talking about enough, however, is data quality. More and more and more data is not helpful unless it is QUALITY data. We have the quantity, there’s no shortage of farm data out there, but how do we improve the QUALITY?

We often fall into the trap of assuming more data is better data, when in reality, better data is better data. We’ll explain why in this episode. You’ve probably heard of data being “cleaned” or being “scrubbed”. But what does that mean? Why is this so hard to do with farm data? Why is this a problem and what can be done about it?

“Right now the industry is really really excited about all of the data that we can produce...but I really feel like the second generation of the data wave here in agriculture is going to be quality, and comparability, and what metrics do we measure excellence by. Those are going to be the things that make the difference.” - Kyle Mehmen, General Manager, MBS Family Farms

All of these are questions and more are addressed in today’s episode as we bring on farmer Kyle Mehmen and New Leaf Symbiotics Technical Sales Lead Brad Walkup to talk about their experiences in focusing on getting higher quality data from their trials.

“Agriculture for years has been a race to see who can grow the most commodity. I feel like in the next 5-8 years, I’m hoping we can get to the point that we can differentiate crops by quality. Therefore a grower will have a unique value position in the market, rather than just #2 yellow corn.” - Brad Walkup, Technical Sales Lead, New Leaf Symbiotics

This episode is another one that I’ve partnered with my friends at In10t to bring to you. This year I’ve really wanted to explore where innovative ideas meet practical realities in agtech, and there is no company doing more in this area than In10t, so they’re the perfect partner, not only for this episode, but also for episode 194 called “Accelerating AgTech Adoption” where we talked about the importance of on-farm trials, and episode 215 entitled “Bridging the Gap Between Farmers and AgTech” where we talked about the real challenges in getting trials right.

From those episodes, you may assume In10t is a consulting company that helps arrange farmer trials. That’s how they got their start, but as VP of Technology Mike Hartquist will tell you, they have evolved into a technology platform as well.

“We look at technology as almost the third piece of the pie. We do (technology) well, and we want that to be the core of how it fits together, but our people and process is really how we got here...We don’t want to create this cool tool, but it’s not useful. Let’s get out in the field, and go walk fields and use a spreadsheet, and go figure out how it works and what works and what doesn’t, and then let’s let technology make it better for us.” - Mike Hartquist, VP of Technology at In10t

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Previous Episode

FOA 225: A Masterclass in Building a Direct-to-Consumer Farm Business

Can a farmer transition from the commodity market into a full-scale direct-to-consumer brand?

The answer is “yes”, and David Newman is proof.

But this isn’t a story of an overnight success. The transition for Newman Farm has been in the works since the 1990s. Over the past 20 years he has learned many lessons, and he was kind enough to share some of them on this episode.

This is a special episode of the “Future of Agriculture” Podcast because for the first time, the interview did not include our usual host, Tim Hammerich. Guest co-host Janette Barnard sourced the story and interviewed David.

*Be sure to subscribe to Janette’s weekly newsletter about innovation in the animal agriculture value chain: primefuture.substack.com.

David and Janette discuss:

Transitioning from a commodity focus to building a brand
Finding the right strategy for growth
How COVID-19 has impacted their business
The need for reinvention no matter how traditional your industry
The challenges of a branded product with direct customer access
The importance of relationships and growing with partners
Advice to others interested in making a similar transition

*As a bonus, this episode includes a “Startup Spotlight” segment at the end, which features Janelle Maiocco, Founder and CEO of Barn2Door, which is a software that David Newman has used to grow his business.

Next Episode

FOA 227: Finding Product-Market Fit and Talent with Joe Dales

Great show for you today, especially for the entrepreneurs in the audience. We have on the show Joe Dales, who in his current capacity is the CoFounder and President of Agri & Food Innovation at RH Accelerator in London, Ontario, Canada.

In this episode, we talk about the importance and the elusiveness of product-market fit - meaning creating not just a great product or service, but one that the market is eager to pay for. We also talk a lot about attracting and retaining talent to the ag industry, and the future of work.

Joe’s extensive experience in bringing innovations to the market really shines through in this episode. He has been involved in successfully launching over 40 agtech innovations ranging from crop protection products, to seed varieties, to biologicals, to software companies. In 1998, he co-founded Farms.com Ltd. and AgCareers.com which have grown to become a leading supplier of innovative solutions to farmers, agriculture and food companies around the global, he remains a major shareholder and director.

Be sure to stay tuned to the end of this episode for great stuff from Joe, but also a startup spotlight. This one is another Canadian company, from a few provinces over in Alberta. Rob Saik makes his third appearance on this show to talk about his newest venture AgVisorPro, so make sure to stick around for that at the end of today’s show.

Joe Dales Quotes:

“I’ve always looked at where innovation in agriculture come together, and think about how they can help farmers.”

“You'll know when you get product-market fit, you definitely know when you don't have it, because there's crickets. I'll take it to (farmers like) my brother or my best friend, and say, ‘Hey, what do you think of this?’ And they'll go, ‘that's nice’, but they aren't gonna use it.”

“Building (software) is sometimes the easiest part. It’s the education, it’s the branding, it’s getting people using it.”

“Our sector isn't a true consumer sector. It's more B2B than B2C because every decision can be hugely costly. If they make a bad decision, you know, on selecting a crop or where they spend their time. And they've got it to do list usually a mile long, especially in season. So giving them a new scouting app or giving them a new tool. You better show them how it'll save them time and money, and that it's proven.”

“Just about every company I'm dealing with, talent is the number one issue. They could scale; they could do things a lot more quickly. But there's a farmer or there's a CEO and he needs four more highly motivated, highly skilled, highly networked individuals to help them grow the business.”

“We look at the product and the concept: where is it? Do we like it? And then quickly we move right to the founders: what do we think of them? Do they know the sector? You know, if they want to do something on dairy farms: are they from a dairy family? Unless you're from it and really intimately knowledgeable about the sector, or willing to pay the price and go out and visit, you’re higher risk.”

“So all these technologies are swirling around in our sector and this just, how do we, how do we onboard them? How do we get them up and running? And how do we help farmers get the value out of them? Because once they do that, then there's real companies there.”

“I wake up everyday trying to help farmers save money (and/or) make money through innovation. And I've had success, but still I love doing it every day. It gets me moving early in the morning and I’m very passionate about it. And I feel good in some small way, we're helping feed the world. So it's pretty easy to remain motivated.”

Rob Saik Quotes:

“The number of times through the course of the year, when a farmer could reach out to really talk to people with deep domain expertise that could help the farming operation are numerous”

“If farmers or anybody out there has deep domain knowledge in farm software, like a Climate Fieldview or Granular or Trimble ag software. They could list themselves as a software expert and help other people in the sector. It could be other farmers helping other farmers.”

“But coming through COVID people are starting to realize that technology can shrink time and space. We can stretch brains and not bodies, just as we're doing right now (recording this podcast), we can solve problems from a distance.”