Better data for better decisions

The Better Data for Better Decisions constellation is a Food Agility CRC program of research, led by Federation University, that is addressing the capacity of those in agrifood industries to use data for better decision‐making and ultimately, for better business outcomes. Central to this program is the concept of making data FAIR:

• Findable
• Accessible
• Interoperable
• Reusable

Data is sought by producers, farm product consumers, environmental agencies, natural resource managers, investors, financiers, realtors, insurers, and those who are seeking evidence for best practice land, stock and agribusiness management. By capitalising on the wide range of digital technologies available to the agrifoods sector, data custodians can determine how they wish their data to be shared while maintaining control over their data.

Opportunities have never been greater for sharing agricultural and food data nationally, internationally and across sectors.  This is driven by a pressing need to better understand our agricultural environments at all scales.

Outcomes

The expected outcomes of the research program are:

• Solutions and tools that deliver accessible and useful data across agrifood industries.
• The delivery of value to the agrifood sector through applied research and innovation in digital technologies.
• Building capacity and resources for the agrifood and education sectors to enhance the data capabilities of future generations.
• Development of interoperability data exchange standards which enable data federation and the application of machine learning and visualisation tools to provide insights from data.
• Stewardship and governance of FAIR data for provider and consumer communities, trusted data repositories and the governance of public-private data.
• Development of frameworks and tools to assist with making better decisions in the agrifood supply chain.

Research Projects

Related projects include:

• ‍Decision Wizard - a decision-making web app to help guide farmers in their on-farm decision-making and to build knowledge about how those decisions are made.

Higher Degree by Research Projects

The higher degree by research student projects linked to the data constellation include:

• An online tool for comparison of lime applications, taking into account the lime quality, availability, crop or pasture response, and economics
• Predicting crop yield within the growing season at sub-paddock scale: a big data approach
• ‍The Value Proposition for Australian Digital Agriculture, with a Focus on Precision Agriculture

Contacts

If you would like to know more about the Better Data for Better Decisions research constellation, or would like to get involved, please contact:

• ‍Dr Birgita Hansen, Better Data for Better Decisions Constellation Leader, Food Agility CRC & Senior Research Fellow, Federation University
• ‍Associate Professor Peter Dahlhaus, Principal Research Fellow, Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Federation University
• If you would like to know more about Food Agility, contact hello@foodagility.com

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