Anthony Rudd is on a mission to pave the way from paddock to profit by breaking down tech jargon and unlocking the secure data space.

Based in Leeton, New South Wales, Anthony Rudd of I-AG poses a question for farmers: ‘What if I could?’.

What if I could…

• harness my on-farm innovation and technology to make quick and informed decisions without having to leave the cab of my tractor?
• Have someone do the leg work for me?
• Streamline my on-farm information in a secure and easy to decipher manner?
• Use data to improve decision making in the paddock?

In 2008, Anthony began as John Deere Australia’s first integrated solutions manager. John Deere’s precision ag technology was tested in the USA and then brought to Australia. Anthony was integral in joining the technology to the dealership, and then helping connect the value to the grower. After leaving John Deere, Anthony, not wanting to abandon the relationships he had fostered but also recognizing the gaps in the market around managing on-farm data, founded I-AG. I-AG aims to bridge the gap between, “I’ve bought this piece of equipment and we can’t get it to work” and “I can now use and harvest the data to benefit my production”.

Anthony cites lack of knowledge from both sides on the technology market as a major issue in the adoption of precision ag in Australia. From re-sellers to growers, the confusion can be vast. It doesn't help that on-farm problems arise just as quickly as the technology is being developed. Anthony suggests that we need more people able to translate between technology and farming.

While the next generation will be extremely ‘tech-savvy,’ the current crop of farmers varies in tech-readiness. In some cases, growers are missing out on opportunities to use data to improve decision making for their farms. The current loss of historical data is also a major problem. His solution? A simplified precision ag roadmap for producers that allows them to be proactive before issues arise.  In the short term, he suggests collaborating with agronomy partners and getting “ready” to quickly share data. One way to do this is to start with a data storage module (ideally, cloud-based). Producers can then keep raw data in original form, and iteratively add sharing methods and users as needed.

Ultimately this keeps on-farm data working for you, not against you.

You can find more information on I-AG here

You can find I-AG on twitter here

You can find Anthony here on Twitter.

View Anthony’s LinkedIn Profile here

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