USDA Open Data / Big Data & Precision Agriculture Presentation for the Federal Big Data Working Group Presented by the Office of the Chief Information Officer September 14, 2015

Overview Open Data Big Data What is Generating Big Data? Intersection of Open Data, Big Data and Open Government Data Driven Agriculture Value of Precision Ag Data Precision Ag and Big Data Decision Support for Farmers Farmer Profitability Strategy Questions

Open Data USDA is a large Federated Agency, consisting of 12 Administrative Offices and 17 Agencies, with over 100,000 employees; with varying missions. Food Safety Data Food Nutrition Data Crop Insurance Data Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service Data Rural Development Data Marketing and Regulatory Data Natural Resources and Environmental Data Administrative and Statistical Data To date, the Enterprise Data Inventory (EDI) consists of 721 datasets (568 Releasable to the Public and 153 non releasable, 79 APIs) Our goal is to increase the number of “high-value” datasets in the coming months USDA continues to be “Green” on the Federal Open Data Dashboard To improve USDA data to our customers, we continue to engage the public by: Participating in Civic Hackathons Chicago, Baltimore and NC North Carolina Women and Girls Hackathon in Ventura, California (Jan 2016) Improving customer feedback mechanism in Data.gov “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.” — President Obama, January 21, 2009

Big Data Census Find It, Connect It (FINCI) Project The Value of Open and Big Data: Create the next major technological “sea change” in agriculture Enables the public to source, supply and consume it with better outcomes Innovators and inventors can build stuff that matters and build stuff that works Unlock more value in the existing data market and the potential to create a new line of businesses Census Find It, Connect It (FINCI) Project Developed a pilot using USDA and Census data to determine the economic impact of a flood on Consumers Explored methods to create a common set of standards that could be used across the federal government Census Bureau - City Software Development Kit (SDK) Project Unlocking the value of open data to promote economic growth, fuel innovation and entrepreneurship Enabling cities and counties to use data to deliver tangible and transformative results for their communities Provided a ready-to-use meshed USDA and Census Data Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) s for developers (ie. Hackathons) OMB Memo 13-13 released last year, requires federal agencies to develop and release data that can be used by other government agencies, industry, academia, and the public. It also requires Agencies to develop and maintain and enterprise data inventory that can be Expanded, Enriched and is Open. It requires Agencies to make their data machine readable and using open formats and data standards for new information development and collection. It requires Agencies to use open licenses and establishes processes that will identify information that can not be release for various reasons. (privacy, legal, security)

What Is Generating Big Data? Sensor Technology and Networks (measuring all kinds of data) Scientific Instruments (collecting all sorts of data) Mobile Devices (tracking all objects all the time)

Intersection of Open Data, Big Data and Open Government

Data-Driven Agriculture Data-Driven, or “Precision” Agriculture is the use of big data to supplement on-farm precision agriculture—meaning having the right farm data at the right time to make better decisions to improve long-term profitability. Precision Agriculture provides farmers, ranchers, and producers with key decision points using various data, such as planning, pre-planting and planting, in-season, and harvest data. Multiple Federal agencies produce data that are used by companies and individuals adopting precision agricultural practices, including: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Interior (DOI) Department of Commerce (DOC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) To enhance the adoption of data-driven agricultural systems for increased productivity, including providing strategic direction and leadership to advance Precision Agriculture efforts in the US, data driven agriculture is currently being added to the Open Government National Action Plan 3.0 as part of the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative. The creation of an additional GODAN work group with a focus on improving data availability for and global adoption of precision agriculture practices will be created to address data to advance data-driven agriculture in the public and private sectors. The Precision Ag GODAN Working Group is under development and pending adoption by the GODAN partners.

What is Precision Ag? The holy grail of agriculture research which will be the ability to define a Decision Support System (DSS) for whole farm management with the goal of optimizing returns on inputs while preserving resources. Allows farmers to provide customized attention to their fields.

Precision Ag? Precision Ag, also referred to as Site Specific Management (SSM) - a set of technologies to manage agricultural inputs based on variation of physical, chemical, and biological factors that impact the yield potential in a field. Made possible by Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Variation in plant growth based on soil properties: slope, aspect, texture, organic matter, exchange and water holding capacity, pest population. Soil properties generally vary on the scale of 10-20 m, so there are many different zones within a single field where the crops have different requirements. Decision support system for in-season management based on information directly from the crops and an estimate of future needs Satellite remote sensing is rarely used in precision agriculture !! (not from lack of trying).

Value Generated by Ag Big Data Value of Precision Ag Data Value Generated by Ag Big Data Making the link between On-Farm Optimization Data-based decision-making for many more decisions Early problem identification for management response Custom solutions optimize inputs to achieve production goals (yield and quality) dependent upon market demands Input Product Innovation for Unique Conditions Biotech / seed research Equipment R&D Management Strategies Analysis & Decision Support Market Linkage Improves transparency and predictability of markets

Precision Ag and Big Data Big data is associated with Precision Ag, but is much larger than on-farm data alone: On-Farm Precision Ag Fertilizer, planting, crop protection 3rd Party Data Weather, satellite / aerial imagery, soil fertility, topographic data Research & Development Academic / Land grant data, biotech and equipment company publications, software and analytics, and Government (ARS data) Commodity Markets Local, regional, global

Enabling Farmers to Make 40 Critical Decisions Decision Support for Farmers Enabling Farmers to Make 40 Critical Decisions Critical Decision Sets: Planning Data Seed Selection Weed- Control Program Pest Pathogen- Control Program Pre-Planting Data Fertility Program Tillage Program Planting Data Plant Population Dynamics Seed Depth Timing In-Season Data Post- Emergenc e Pest Control Crop Diagnostics Quality & Market Factors Harvest Data Equipment Crop Marketing Goal: Maximize Net Return Per Acre Productivity Tools: Seed Factors Seed is lynchpin decision – key to establishing yield potential Planting Factors Focus on best field configuration, preparation and planting elements Pest-Control Factors Focus on insect, weed, and disease control regimes In-Season Decisions Diseases, nutrient, etc. approaches based on in- field environment

Farmer Profitability Strategy Pioneer Farmer Profitability Strategy Whole Farm Profitability Services Examples of Current Services Offering Field-by-field crop plans Planting maps Harvest maps Crop insurance Financial services Grain marketing Harvest / Evaluate Plan Monitor Plant Tools to deliver additional insights for advanced farmer profitability.

Precision Ag Delivers… 14

Questions Points-Of-Contacts Mr. Bobby Jones Ms. Joyce Hunter Deputy CIO for Policy and Planning 202-720-8833 joyce.hunter@ocio.usda.gov Mr. Bobby Jones USDA Senior Advisor to the Deputy CIO for Policy and Planning and Acting Chief Data Officer 202-690-4305 bobby.jones@ocio.usda.gov 15