A new study by investigators from CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), an Australian organization, looks at the perceptions, among members of the farming industry, on the usage of Big Data. The study, “Is big data for big farming or for everyone? Perceptions in the Australian grains industry”, is the result of the analysis of 26 interviews with cereal industry stakeholders from Australia.

The term “Big Data” refers to data sets so large and/or complex that they cannot be processed by traditional data processing applications. With Big Data, it is already possible to “combine large data sets and analyses including long-range climate forecasts, crop production models, sensors on farms, local weather station data,” amongst others.

Big Data can be used to both increase farm productivity and to improve logistics and market analysis.

“Big data applications might be assumed to be more readily suited to large farms and industries that already use data in their decision-making and have access to data capture from machinery, greater access to capital and resources and find larger-scale decision-making more relevant. However, there is little research examining this assumption,” the authors defend.

The takeaway is clear: when it comes to who will benefit the most from Big Data in agriculture, opinions are divided.

Big Data is for big farming

Some industry players believe that Big Data will mostly benefit large farms and businesses, “by having access to more accurate, up to date industry-wide information and by being better set up to implement big data applications.”

These types of operations were seen as having an easier time managing the demands of using Big Data: covering the big upfront costs, having access to “a larger store of existing data” and a better ability to “source skills and advice in the application and interpretation” of Big Data.

The interviewees who expressed this opinion had a tendency to value profit maximization and to believe in “survival of the fittest” and “bigger is better.”

Big Data is for everyone

A different view identified by the study authors argues that Big Data is for everyone – “by improving things overall, everyone will be better off.”

However, the interviewees on this side recognized that “benefits to the farmer may take some time to flow back until sufficient data is captured (and methods established for storage, analysis, and reporting).”

The interviewees who upheld this belief showed a tendency to believe in values like cooperation, sharing and the collective above the individual.

Challenges in the application of Big Data in agriculture

Trust, infrastructure and global competition. These are the three main risks in the implementation of Big Data in agriculture, as identified by industry stakeholders.

Trust in the context of Big Data is very different for big businesses and for farmers. For the former, what’s most important is the trust in data storage processes and governmental rules and restrictions on Big Data. For the latter, the most relevant considerations have to do with maintaining rights for individual farmers and making sure that benefits flow back to producers.

Where infrastructure is concerned, the biggest challenge is the lack of Internet access in rural and remote areas, as well as a lack of “data handling capabilities and downloading speeds.” Both sides of the issue agree this is a problem, because “although big farms and corporations are more likely to have access to the necessary infrastructure, the regional location of many farms means that this is still an issue.”

Global competition as a risk in the implementation of Big Data is seen in the context of Australian farming. “One of the risks that can be identified for the future of big data in Australia is the need to keep up with international developments in big data, or risk getting external ‘takeovers’.”

How can these issues be addressed while ensuring that Big Data benefits both big farms and companies as wells as farmers? For the study authors, the solution will come from engaging groups of farmers, advice networks, and industry associations and from the sharing of knowledge between organizations – both locally and globally.

Read also: What is the Internet of Things and how is it changing agriculture?