The UASPSE project, BD Spokes: SPOKE: MIDWEST: Digital Agriculture - Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Plant Sciences and Education (NSF Award # 1636865), wrapped up its activities this month with the publication of nine OpenAccess articles in the September/October 2022 issue of Agronomy Journal under the Special Section: Big Data Promises and Obstacles: Agricultural Data Ownership and Privacy.

SPECIAL SECTION: BIG DATA PROMISES AND OBSTACLES: AGRICULTURAL DATA OWNERSHIP AND PRIVACY (BDPO)

https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14350645/current

Applications due: August 11–November 17, 2022 (depending on program area)

August 17, 2022Written by MBDH

By Raleigh Butler

Recently, there has been a large amount of U.S. federal funding directed toward next-generation precision-agriculture initiatives. This article summarizes a few such projects based in the Midwest.  Read more here.

The Midwest Big Data Hub has a paid internship open to grad and advanced undergrad students across the 12-state Midwest region.  Interested students may find more details here: https://midwestbigdatahub.org/science-communications-internship/

The Ag Data Coop works to create data-driven agricultural production systems, producers will need access to data, simulations, forecasts, and predictions to learn how they can transform their operations and enhance productivity. The overall goal of this project is to develop a blueprint for a national data framework and cooperative where producers, universities, and not-for-profit entities can store and share data and develop powerful tools that enable producers to maximize their production and profitability. The National Agricultural Producer Data Cooperative (NAPDC) will:

Develop a blueprint for a national agricultural producers data framework by identifying needs and opportunities as well as challenges in physical infrastructure, human resources, and use cases;

Looking for collaborators in data science? The MBDH Collaboration Cafe is open!

The Collaboration Cafe is a monthly webinar open to all that is focused on building a community of data science researchers in the Midwest and beyond to explore funding opportunities and develop proposals. We are focused on elevating early-career scholars, particularly from under-resourced institutions, but everyone is welcome, including participants from industry, nonprofits, and government agencies.

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub has a call for proposals for its Community Development and Engagement program. This program provides support for new cross-sector community-building initiatives that align with the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub's "Smart & Resilient Communities" Priority Area.  Join the Q&A webinar for prospective proposers July 19, 2022, 3:00 p.m.CT.

Carbon capture, cybersecurity and environmental sustainability are complex problems that need diverse teams to help address them in a holistic manner. It is expected that significant levels of funding will be available in these areas over the next several years. The Midwest Big Data Hub is focused on building networks and collaborations to advance progress and strengthen data ecosystems -  the Digital and Precision Ag spoke of the Midwest Big Data Hub announces the following Digital Ag seed funds to catalyze the formation of diverse teams across institutions in these three focus areas.

Please see THE Midwest Big Data Hub –Digital Ag Seed Funding (pdf) for additional information.

Our world food production system is undergoing a dramatic shift towards sustainable food practices and increased food security. Space agriculture, and the technology it creates, could catalyze the development of high-yield crop production that requires less land and less energy, providing farmers with the ability to create more with less. At Space Ag Conference, discussions focused on what it will take to accelerate innovation and move forward with the Agtech industry.  Find presentation links here:

Partnering to grow the data science community in the Midwest - The next round of Community Development and Engagement program is now open for proposals! The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub provides support for new community-led initiatives that focus on key data challenges in the Midwest.

The Community Development and Engagement program is open for proposals through 11:59 p.m. CT July 12, 2021! 

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub provides support for new community-led initiatives that focus on key data challenges in the Midwest, including building data science educational capacity, bringing together cross-discipline and cross-sector communities that share interests, and removing barriers to data sharing. 

This year our focus is on fostering creative partnerships, including:

In collaboration with Grand Farm, the Digital Ag UASPSE project (NSF #1636865) is seeking Early Career researchers to participate in the Workshop on Big Data and Agricultural Carbon Sequestration on Wed, July 14, 2021 in Fargo, ND. The workshop will be co-located with Cultivate Conference 2021.
UASPSE will provide travel reimbursement for a limited number of Early Career researchers to attend the workshop and the Cultivate Conference held on the following day, Thursday, July 15, 2021.
Purpose: Gather industry, government, and academic stakeholders with the goal of researcher/industry match making and proposal development around topics related to Big Data and Agricultural Carbon Sequestration, including, but not limited to: