Live Webcast: Increasing U.S. Agriculture’s Competitive Edge: How Do Public Data and Big Data Fit?

Inaugural Jon Brandt Policy Forum 

Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE)

When:  Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM ET
Where:  Room 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building (SD-562)
Register here!
View live webcast here: http://connectlive.com/events/cfare/

American agriculture is facing an information crossroads. Agricultural markets, producer and industry decisions, and public policy that facilitates markets, rely heavily upon public sector data and information. However, the nation's statistical agencies currently face unprecedented pressure to reevaluate their data products. In some cases, agencies have suspended, aggregated, and even eliminated data and statistical series critical for understanding or alleviating market volatility and uncertainties. Simultaneously, technology has enabled growth in big data gathering capabilities. Modern farmers and service providers are harvesting big data and combining it with site specific, farm level information to provide data-driven, prescriptive farming solutions. This dynamic information environment, while exciting, raises a number of challenges. The inaugural forum aims to elucidate a comprehensive understanding of the roles and value of private and public sources of data in facilitating U.S. domestic and international production and markets.

Speakers and Event

JB Penn, Chief Economist at Deere & Company will provide the keynote address to set the stage, discussing the situation, policy environment, and road ahead. A panel of experts will be moderated by Sara Wyant, President of Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. The panel will include:

• Mary Bohman — Administrator, USDA Economic Research Service
• Bob Young – Chief Economist & Deputy Executive Director, Public Policy, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Hubert Hamer, Jr. - Chair, Agricultural Statistics Board, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
• Ted Crosbie – Distinguished Science Fellow, Monsanto
• Barry Goodwin – Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, Ag. and Resource Economics

Panelists will identify critical knowledge gaps that reflect the agricultural marketplace’s contemporary analytical and policy-making needs. These experts will then engage the audience on the value of public information and big data, while addressing public-private issues that will shape the future competitiveness of U.S. agriculture and related industries.

This inaugural forum will build upon the recent C-FARE report, “From Farm Income to Food Consumption: Valuing USDA Data Products”, developed with support from the USDA Office of the Chief Economist. The forum will also complement the related discourse in articles published in Choices magazine.

Hosted by the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE)
Cosponsored by: