Big data
What’s the
BIG DEAL
about
BIG DATA?
Big data is something you have likely heard or read about. Maybe you have even been encouraged to incorporate it into your operation. This Q&A with Todd Janzen, attorney, writer and speaker knowledgeable in ag tech topics, gets down to the basics of what big data is and how growers can use it.
Q: What is big data?
e promise of big data is that it will lead to reduced inputs for crops and increased yields.
A: Big data is a collection of aggregated data sets. Think of it like this: There are many tools out there already that collect data, whether it is our cell phones or the thermostat in our house or google — you name it. When you start to pool everybody’s collective use of those tools that collect data and analyze it, that’s when you really start to talk about big data.
A good example of big data is a phone app that shows where traffic is stuck or bottled up. Everyone’s phone is reporting how quickly they are moving
22 Irrigation TODAY | April 2019
on the highway, and the app collects that information and tells those using the app where people are slowing down in certain areas. You can start to draw big-picture conclusions from all of the little data sets that are going into the aggregate data set.
Q: How can big data be used in agriculture?
A: Here’s an example: Say you plant a certain type of hybrid from a certain seed grower. As a grower, you know how you raised that crop, what your yield was and all of the different attributes
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