Who knew that the specific crossover of agriculture and big data was such a big deal? Everyone from Mother Jones to the New York Times has focused on the topic in the last couple of weeks.
Mother Jones’ food and agriculture correspondent, Tom Philpott, wrote How Monsanto’s Big Data Push Hurts Small Farms. Philpott seems to be most worried about two things. First, the cost of technology – that big ag can afford to invest in technology more than small farmers. Second, he worries that farmers will use the data to limit crop diversification.
I know that Monsanto is leading the charge into genetically modified food, which doesn’t thrill me, but I still think it’s unfair to tar the company when it’s just one of many applying big data to agriculture. Nor is it solely responsible for farmers limiting their crops to items like corn and soy that currently have the best ROI. That’s just capitalism at work.
What’s the takeaway here? As with any technology, companies like Monsanto can spend billions on apps, but unless the actual users see some value in it, the vendors will just be stuck in the mud like a tractor after a soggy rain.
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In a nutshell, the value of big data is the micro and the macro compiled, aggregated, and analyzed for a whole lot more insight, whether you’re dealing with detergent or dirt.
Read full, original article: Big Data Hits The Dirt
