October 23, 2020: Towards Sustainability: A Discussion on Regenerative Agriculture
As we near a total population of 8 billion people, it has become critical to re-define our approaches to agriculture for a sustainable future. Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems that focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
In this workshop, we will explore the concepts of:
- Zero-budget farming
- Soil-based technologies
- Optimized and predictive irrigation systems
October 30, 2020: Emerging Technologies in Precision Agriculture
Worldwide, more than $85 billion is spent on crop protection. New pest-control products can tap into this market while protecting the world’s food supply and lessening impacts on the environment. This second workshop will feature one of the Digital Technology Supercluster’s projects in the area of Precision Agriculture for Crop Health. Led by Terramera, this project is developing new pest and pathogen controls through the use of computational biochemistry, genomics, machine learning, and robotics. By combining large data sets, the research will leverage machine learning and robotics to quickly identify and test new pest management formulations and determine their ability to attack specific fungi on specific crops.
In this workshop, we will explore the concepts of:
- Computational chemistry
- Robotics and AI
- Data analytics and quantum computing
November 6, 2020: Big Data in Agriculture
Big data can truly revolutionize the agricultural sector by harnessing an interconnected data ecosystem with the right tools and software to integrate various data sources. With global food demand set to surge almost twofold by 2050, it will be incumbent upon farmers and agricultural producers to harness data and innovation to improve productivity and feed a growing global population. Armed with data from a growing array of soil sensors, GPS-equipped equipment, weather and environment information, producers who implement precision agriculture will gain a competitive advantage in their operations. On an aggregate basis, there is also an opportunity to take advantage of combined datasets to provide unparalleled data analytics and insights that can better predict and manage key resources while increasing productivity.
In this workshop, we will explore the concepts of leveraging agriculture data in the context of:
- Data trusts and data cooperatives
- Data management
- Data sharing and governance
