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Overview and Value of Digital Technologies for North American Soybean Producers
J. Lee, K. Port, J. Fulton, R. Colley III
Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

In the current state of digital agriculture, many digital technologies and services are offered to assist North American soybean producers.  Opportunities for capturing and analyzing information related to soybean production methods are made available through the adoption of these technologies.  However, often it is difficult for producers to know which digital tools and services are available to them or understand the value they can provide.  The objective of this study was to assimilate and categorize current digital technologies available to producers today, understand how they are being used, and potential value they can provide.  

Over 100 currently available digital technologies were sorted into six categories that included: Data Warehousing, Production Benchmarking, Production Analysis, In-Season Monitoring, Crop Modeling, and Recommendations. Categorizing these technologies provided; 1) a clearer understanding of technology implementation, 2) an alignment of a digital technology to a producer’s intended use if adopted, and 3) insight to producers considering these digital technologies. 

A producer survey was also administered along with interviews of agriculture technology experts, and results were then summarized and analyzed.  Survey results indicated that 70% of producers are confident that their data is valuable and 91% are actively using technology in soybean production.  Many survey responses indicated concerns about the potential added value, data management logistics, and disconnects between technology providers and end users.  Results of this study provide insight for soybean producers on the implementation and use of current and future digital technologies.  

Keyword: Digital Agriculture, Data, Soybeans, Technology, Precision Ag
J. Lee    K. Port    J. Fulton    R. Colley iii    Decision Support Systems    Oral    2018