Jeremy Wilson works for Crop IMS and knows a thing or two about big data. In his presentation, Data Share and Share Alike at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference, Wilson addresses the information recorded on a farm and who should be given access to it.

On his own farm Wilson says they share all their information with someone, because there is a third party who can offer value for every bit of data collected. But that doesn’t mean he’ll hand over valuable numbers to just anyone. The key is finding the company or service that will interpret that data in a way that enhances the overall operation. Data should equal value, in other words.

And because data is valuable its important that data collection is of good quality. Every person who operates a monitor should understand how it works. Most systems will allow a driver to punch a couple of buttons, engage the GPS and take off, but that doesn’t mean the information collected is sound. This diminishes the the quality of information a third party can give back to a grower.

“Yield data, applications data, planting data; you only get one chance each growing season to get good, quality data. And if we loose it, its gone. We never get to get it back,” Wilson emphasizes.

Hopefully in the future user interfaces will become more friendly. Organizations on the machine and data side of the issue are working to create data standards, making it easier for an operator to know if all is well on a monitor. Great strides have been taken in the last 3-5 years- the next few years should make data collection a simpler task, Wilson encourages.

You can hear Chuck’s full interview here: Interview with Jeremy Wilson

Check out pictures from the conference: 2016 CUTC Photo Album.