Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) Young Farmer Summit series provides farmers between the ages of 18-40 with the opportunity to explore the business side of farming. EMILI was invited to contribute to these events to discuss the importance of data as an essential tool in farming, and share ways for farmers to maximize the utility of their agriculture data.
Dan Lussier, EMILI’s Director of Agri-Food Data, spoke with event participants about the importance of building a foundational knowledge of farm data, how to bring data to the centre of farm business decision making, and about the basics of agtech contracts and data use agreements.
“The FCC Young Farmers Summit is an important way to connect with the next generation taking over farms all across Canada, said Jason Fiske, Manager, Knowledge Products at FCC. “Traditionally this has included key issues like succession planning and commodity market conditions, but without a doubt data and digital technology are now part of the core toolkit that all farmers need for driving their business forward.”
Attendees at the event ranged from young farmers with a long family tradition in the sector to those looking to enter the industry, and spanned different types of production and regions of the country. As the digital transformation of farm businesses continues it is critical that farmers of all types are ready to put that data to work through the strategic use of digital agriculture technology.
“Data planning is farm planning,” said Lussier. “Data is only valuable if you use it to create new value, and to do that it has to be high quality and complete. Data collection also costs time and money, so it needs to be aligned and integrated into your farm planning activities.”
The FCC Young Farmer Summit comes to Winnipeg on January 27, 2025. Be sure to reserve your spot today!
EMILI’s free data literacy program, Fundamentals of Farm Data, equips farmers and others working along the value chain with foundational knowledge and data governance skills related to agriculture data. The program puts growers in positions to ask the right questions as they make investments in digital agriculture technology.