224
dynamics as well as the magnitude of economic benefits available. Such impediments are not insurmountable and can be viewed as much as opportunities as they
are impediments. How they are resolved, however, will have a major impact on big
data’s eventual contribution to performance within agriculture.
Beyond its direct economic impact, society has intense interest in the social and
environmental effects of agriculture. Food safety and security are of public interest
in every society. Interest in mitigating negative environmental impacts of agricultural operations is increasingly a concern and that concern is not constrained to just
citizens in developed nations. In addition to public sector interest, some consumer
segments express interest and concern regarding the practices and methods
employed to produce food. Therefore, in addition to public sector-based regulation,
documentation as to practices employed is increasingly being required by private
sector food manufacturers and retailers.
Interestingly, technological innovations, such as those noted previously, have the
potential to provide much better evidence as to their societal and environmental
effects. These include both tools to more precisely measure and monitor and analytical methods to better understand and predict effects.
8.6 Final Remarks
Historically, agricultural innovation has been a key factor in the improvement of
individual and societal well-being. While much progress has been achieved through
that innovation, more needs to be accomplished especially as the world addresses
the needs of a growing population while simultaneously reducing the stress that
agricultural production can have on the natural environment. This chapter explores
factors affecting the extent to which effective implementation of digital technologies and big data can contribute to that urgently needed agricultural innovation.
References
Barth D (2009) The bright side of sitting in traffic: crowdsourcing road congestion data. Retrieved
February, 2, 2016, from Google’s Official Blog Web site: https://googleblog.blogspot.
com/2009/08/bright-side-of-sitting-in-traffic.html
Bensinger G (2014) Amazon wants to ship your package before you buy it. The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved February, 2, 2016, from the Wall Street Journal Web site: http://blogs.wsj.
com/digits/2014/01/17/amazon-wants-to-ship-your-package-before-you-buy-it/
Brynjolfsson E, McAfee A (2012) Big data: the management revolution. Harv Bus Rev
90(10):60–68
Chen M, Mao S, Liu Y (2014) Big data: a survey. Mob Netw Appl 19(2):171–209
Coble K, Ahearn M, Sonka S, Griffin T, Ferrell S, McFadden J, Fulton J (2016) Advancing
U.S. agricultural competitiveness with big data and agricultural economic market information, analysis, and research. The Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics,
Washington, D.C. 17 pp
S. T. Sonka
dynamics as well as the magnitude of economic benefits available. Such impediments are not insurmountable and can be viewed as much as opportunities as they
are impediments. How they are resolved, however, will have a major impact on big
data’s eventual contribution to performance within agriculture.
Beyond its direct economic impact, society has intense interest in the social and
environmental effects of agriculture. Food safety and security are of public interest
in every society. Interest in mitigating negative environmental impacts of agricultural operations is increasingly a concern and that concern is not constrained to just
citizens in developed nations. In addition to public sector interest, some consumer
segments express interest and concern regarding the practices and methods
employed to produce food. Therefore, in addition to public sector-based regulation,
documentation as to practices employed is increasingly being required by private
sector food manufacturers and retailers.
Interestingly, technological innovations, such as those noted previously, have the
potential to provide much better evidence as to their societal and environmental
effects. These include both tools to more precisely measure and monitor and analytical methods to better understand and predict effects.
8.6 Final Remarks
Historically, agricultural innovation has been a key factor in the improvement of
individual and societal well-being. While much progress has been achieved through
that innovation, more needs to be accomplished especially as the world addresses
the needs of a growing population while simultaneously reducing the stress that
agricultural production can have on the natural environment. This chapter explores
factors affecting the extent to which effective implementation of digital technologies and big data can contribute to that urgently needed agricultural innovation.
References
Barth D (2009) The bright side of sitting in traffic: crowdsourcing road congestion data. Retrieved
February, 2, 2016, from Google’s Official Blog Web site: https://googleblog.blogspot.
com/2009/08/bright-side-of-sitting-in-traffic.html
Bensinger G (2014) Amazon wants to ship your package before you buy it. The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved February, 2, 2016, from the Wall Street Journal Web site: http://blogs.wsj.
com/digits/2014/01/17/amazon-wants-to-ship-your-package-before-you-buy-it/
Brynjolfsson E, McAfee A (2012) Big data: the management revolution. Harv Bus Rev
90(10):60–68
Chen M, Mao S, Liu Y (2014) Big data: a survey. Mob Netw Appl 19(2):171–209
Coble K, Ahearn M, Sonka S, Griffin T, Ferrell S, McFadden J, Fulton J (2016) Advancing
U.S. agricultural competitiveness with big data and agricultural economic market information, analysis, and research. The Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics,
Washington, D.C. 17 pp
S. T. Sonka