Agriculture is one key
industry that can profit from big data analysis. Nick Koshnick (middle), who holds a
Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford, is using his knowledge and experience
to do just this. As the CEO and co-founder of Solum, Inc. Koshnick and his team are
revolutionizing “precision agriculture” increasing the yield of farms and
reducing the annual costs. Solum, Inc. does this by analyzing soil samples in
the field with their “No-Wait Nitrate” field labs. These field labs are automated preparation systems that take samples directly from the field almost instantly allowing farmers to make the necessary changes. The samples taken, along with
topographical maps of the land allow for a detailed synopsis of the different
geographical areas of the soil. This information will then be used to determine
where and in what way to treat the soil. Farmers can be saved from wasting
money on fertilizer for areas that are not nitrogen deprived, and will be able to locate which specific areas of the land will have better yield. In
paying for these services, farmers would very likely improve yield in the long run and better understand the land that is their livelihood.
Resources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/06/27/solum-lands-17-million-for-big-data-analysis-of-farm-soil/
http://solum.ag/
A previous visualization post of mine touched on the yield production of an agricultural crop (tomatoes in particular). It can be viewed here: http://auburnbigdata.blogspot.com/2013/03/visualization-tomato-production-vs.html.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see as a result of the visualization how the US, even though it is a top tomato producer in the world, it is not even close to the top in the world rankings in relation to the amount of tomatoes harvested per acre of land. How is it that such an affluent country as ours not be effectual in our farming practices as other countries? A conclusion that I was able to draw out of my visualization is that if we are able to increase our production by even a percentage of high tomato-yielding countries such as Norway, we can help export more tomatoes to other parts of the world, potentially increasing our GDP. Besides just the potential benefit for first-world countries such as the US, what I think would be even more effectual is to determine how such farming practices used to grow tomatoes in high yields can be taught to and utilized by farmers in third-world countries. Helping farming communities in these countries will help them grow in the direction to become more sustainable agriculturally and economically.
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