The Future of Agronomy in the Field I

Agronomy has changed incredibly over the last 200 years.  There have been many disruptive changes that have occurred that have resulted in the way agronomy is practiced.  These changes are coming quicker today than they ever have.  In my talk, I will look at some of these changes and discuss how they will impact the way a practitioner may practice his role as an agronomist in the future. 

Much of my brief talk will center around data collection, management and interpretation by an agronomist to recommend or make decisions for his/her farmer client.  I will discuss impacts of the proliferation of data sources such as sensor technology, satellite technology, weather data, wearable sensors, etc.  I will also discuss access to data.  With the advent of cloud technology, we have an increasing ability to store information and with the advances in technologies, we have near instant access to this data.  I will complete this part of my talk by discussing “Right Data” as opposed to “Big Data.”

Technological impact on farm machinery will be discussed and how this may impact an agronomist in the future.

And finally I will touch briefly on the impact of genomics to complete my look forward.