AgGateway’s Precision Ag Council is building on its successful work to date on the Standardized Precision Ag Data Exchange (SPADE) Project by launching SPADE2. While the first phase focused on seeding, the second phase will cover crop protection and harvest operations. SPADE2 will also build infrastructure to source the machine and product reference data needed to share crop plans, recommendations, work orders and work records across the industry. These advances will help drive the use of precision ag equipment for a number of basic field operations, enabling growers and agri-businesses to achieve tremendous technological advances, enhanced yield and improved net revenue performance.

The SPADE project will have global impact. The project’s proposed extensions will modify the ISO11783 standards used in agricultural machinery. SPADE is working to allow seamless interoperability and data exchange between hardware systems and software applications that collect field data across farming operations. This ability to share data will simplify mixed-fleet field operations, regulatory compliance, crop insurance reporting, traceability, sustainability assessment and field or crop-scale revenue management. It will also make it easier for growers to share data with their trusted advisors, suppliers and other value partners, and will lower the cost of entry for growers and ag retailers who want to use precision ag technology.