As competition for finite acreage increases, farmers are finding new ways to improve their yield and resource use efficiency.

The advent of the so-called precision agriculture and the Internet of Things gave rise to big data, massive volumes of data with a wide variety that can be captured, analyzed and used for decision-making.

As big data continues to grow in size and importance, the number and scope of its benefits will continue to grow alongside. Examples of on-farm benefits of big data range from production benefits, such as yield increases, or greater efficiencies in terms of reduced costs, inputs, and farm risk, to environmental benefits, including improved soil quality and water availability, and new and expanded business opportunities.

Although big data has big potential to support farm management and decision making, there are several challenges that need to be addressed, especially when data are collected at farm level. The following infographic presents several important questions that should be raised.

On-farm data sharing: yes or no? It’s all about asking the right questions!

[This article is a part of our daily series ‘Future trends’]