b'MAKING A CASE FORTHE CONNECTED FARMSoftware and analytics expert, Claudia Roessler, shares her insight on ag techwhere the industry is today and whats to come.Laura HandkeFOR MOST,Microsoft isnt a company namebeginning to have many players, and its important synonymous with agriculture.because those many players drive fast innovation. Most would be surprised to learn of theSecondly, the industry somewhat is still in the first investment Microsoft is making in both technologystagea stage of (data) gathering. From there, and initiatives around sustainability, people-skilling,we are moving beyond gathering data to finding and bringing connectivity to rural areas, saysinsights, she says. The true value is though, when Microsoft Director Azure Strategic Partnerships,you go from insights to Claudia Roessler, in a recent AGI SureTrackpredictions. So instead CoffeeTalk. We work with organizations that wantof seeing whats hap-to bring tech and digital services to the ag industry.pening now, data will As part of the engineering group working totell me that there is build the ag platform roadmap for Microsoftssomething that is going FarmBeats, Roessler helps ag companies build digi- to happen. But to get to tal strategies that rely on aggregated data to solvethis stage, its important specific production problems. And in her newestthat all of this informa-role as board member for Ag Growth Internationaltion isnt sitting in silos (AGI), Roessler is helping to steer ag technologythat cant be accessed. and on-farm solutions with her expertise in soft- Thats where we areClaudia Roessler presents about FarmBeats on a ware development and digital services and hertoday, and farmers arewebinar with Laura Handke.global view of the agriculture industry.frustrated by it. Its not about bringing products to customers.And to be clear, Roessler notes that Microsoft has Its about bringing services to customers, she saysbeen working in the agriculture sector for far longer of a farmers need to find value in the ag technolo- than five years, but she bases her estimation on the gies they adopt. When you look at AGIs SureTrack,monumental advancements and value propositions it is one of the most comprehensive suites I havedelivered to the farm over the past five years. seen; it really takes farm management that looksA connected farm is a farm that can solve the into the farm aspects and the financial aspects andspecific problems an operation has, and thoseIts not about puts them together in a wholistic suite. problems vary across the size, crop, scale and sec- bringing products toShe shares that she is excited about what is totors that make up the production agriculture land-come when the possibilities of Microsoft and AGIsscape. Roessler cites in the conversation an applecustomers. Its about deep expertise in agriculture and equipment aregrower delivering decades of management experi- bringing services to leveraged to work together.ence, combined with precision agriculture. Roessler also says that she sees ag tech remain- The connected farm isnt about replacing thosecustomers.ing a scattered market for the foreseeable future,(experienced) individuals; its about bringing all noting the drivers that continue to segment theof that data together to allow you to collect just Claudia Roesslerspace.enough information to solve the problem, she says. From my perspective, there are two things hap- Its about creating a feedback loop that tracks our pening. One, its a pretty new industry; we think ofdecisions, all influencing factors and over time allow agriculture as being 10,000 years oldand it is us to learn, improve our practices and find what but ag tech is only a few years old. Its normal in thematters for your farm.54/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2021'