University to Host National Conference on Ag Data Network Creation

By Geitner Simmons

Ag stakeholders, scientists and business leaders will meet Aug. 8-9 at the Nebraska East Union for a national conference to continue movement toward creation of a network of national ag data repositories. A group of University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty heads the multidisciplinary effort, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

“The National Agricultural Producers Data Cooperative was launched in 2021 to help USDA develop a public cyberinfrastructure framework for agricultural producer data,” said Jennifer Clarke, professor of statistics and food science and technology at Nebraska and director of the university’s Quantitative Life Sciences Initiative. 

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture funds the initiative, which “is intended to assist producers with managing and accessing data, including analytical tools and services, and be able to share and access data with appropriate privacy and security assurances,” Clarke said. 

The conference, to be held in the Arbor Suite, will aim “to share information about ongoing activities sponsored by the NAPDC and provide an opportunity for participants to give input on the future direction and goals for the NAPDC,” Clarke said. “We are looking forward to great presentations and vibrant discussions.”

Those interested in registering can contact Ashley Stengel, the initiative’s project manager, at astengel2@unl.edu. 

The other Husker faculty leading the project, in collaboration with a wide range of academic institutions and ag stakeholders, are Joe Luck, precision agriculture and biological systems engineering; Laura Thompson, ag extension and farm research; Matt Spangler, beef genetics; Scout Calvert, university libraries; Hongfeng Yu, advanced cyberinfrastructure and high-performance computing; and Trenton Franz, hydrology and water management.

Overall themes for the conference’s sessions are data governance and accessibility; data trust and security; data trust structure; data sustainability and resilience; and community of practice. 

Conference presentations will cover a wide range of topics, including producer needs, privacy protection and open-source web tools. Husker faculty will lead discussions on the initiative’s overall strategic planning.