International innovators in big data, agriculture and soil science will meet in Canberra in June to look at how advances in big data analytics will increase agricultural productivity and profitability in Australia.

Hosted by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, the Soil, Big Data, and the Future of Agriculture conference will demonstrate how integrating technology and farm practice is enabling the evolution of agriculture in the 21st century.

It will also address the issues concerning the uptake of these advances including farm data privacy and security and remote and regional broadband access.

“Big data analytics and 3D soil informatics can empower nations like the US and Australia to increase food and fibre production while ensuring clean and green production values,” said event director and leader of the Soil Carbon Initiative Andrea Koch.

“The United States is leading the way in this field, but Australia with its world leading capabilities in precision agriculture, soil data and technological research, is well placed to work with our transpacific partners to take advantage of this growing trend.”

The conference will feature sessions on the Internet of Agricultural Things (IoAT), digital mapping and improving soil productivity, government perspective on digital innovation in agriculture, and the policy implications of these technological developments.

US speakers at the conference include:

• Dr Sonny Ramaswamy — Director, US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Mary Kay Thatcher — Senior Director, Congressional Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Charles Schleusner — Manager, Product Marketing and Strategy, John Deere
• Dr Mike Strobel — Director, US Department of Agriculture National Water and Climate Center
• Dr Pradip Das — Strategy and Operations Leader, Measurement, Climate Corporation (owned by Monsanto)
• Dr Terry Griffin — Precision agriculture and big data consultant

They will be joined by a host of Australian speakers including the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Alicia Garden, CEO Grain Growers, Alex Ball, General Manager Livestock Productivity, Meat & Livestock Australia and Gerard Davis, General Manager, Innovation and Technology, Australian Agricultural Company.

Name: Soil, Big Data, and the Future of Agriculture Conference

Time: 7:30am – 4:00pm

Date: Thursday 25 June 2015

Venue: Hotel Realm, Canberra

Address: 18 National Circuit, Canberra ACT 2600

Cost: AU$462 (AU$396 for early bird)

Event Website: http://soilbigdata.org/