Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), Acting Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, held a hearing to educate members about innovations in agricultural imagery and technology. This is the second hearing in a series examining Big Data and its role in agriculture. The subcommittee heard from a variety of stakeholders about using satellites, manned airplanes, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones) as a way to collect imagery that farmers can leverage to make better business and conservation decisions for their farms. As technology continues to evolve, the witnesses stressed the importance of maintaining the privacy of individual farmers and ranchers and ensuring that their data is protected.
“American farmers and ranchers are utilizing technology to produce more and better food and fiber products with fewer inputs than ever before. While the imagery and mapping technology we discussed today paves the way for additional increases in farm productivity and efficiency, it continues to be the foundation on which we administer our farm and conservation programs. I appreciate today’s panel of witnesses for sharing their expertise on this important topic, and I look forward to continuing to explore the role of Big Data in agriculture,” said Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway.
Written testimony provided by the witnesses from today’s hearing is linked below. Click here for more information, including Acting Chairman Lucas’ opening statement and the archived webcast.
Witness List:
Panel I
Mr. Lanny Faleide, President, Satshot, Inc., Fargo, ND
Mr. Craig Molander, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Surdex Corporation, Chesterfield, MO
Dr. Christopher Dombrowski, Chief Technology Officer, TerrAvion, Inc., San Leandro, CA
Mr. Robert Blair, Farmer/ VP Agriculture, Measure, Kendrick, ID