Everyone agrees the Boeing 747 crashes were tragic and preventable. But there are some disagreements on the root cause, which is why I am writing this article. I believe the Boeing 737 Max crashes are prelude to legal arguments that will unfold over and over in a world increasingly controlled by automation.

I’ve always been a sucker for fortune cookies and cracking one open after what amounted to a pretty mediocre sweet and sour chicken, the message read, “when one door closes, another opens.” As cliché an outlook as can be, but it did get me thinking about the ongoing challenges many dealers face as we head into spring planting.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA is the first comprehensive state-wide attempt to protect individual data privacy rights.

While there is still a mix of optimism and skepticism surrounding the overall farm economy, one bright spot could be the precision farming segment.

I don’t know when planting season will start, but I do know that when it does, it will feel like we are going 100 mph. When we are in the tractor, with that planter hooked up behind us, we find ourselves in a state of conflict.

Even though we don’t want to admit it, there are very few things on our operations that have 100% uptime. Everything that is mechanical or electronic is subject to a breakdown.

An international agricultural research group has created a set of guidelines for organizations using agricultural data in research projects. CGIAR is the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. CGIAR and is a consortium of 15 international research centers. CGIAR has developed a Platform for Big Data in Agriculture that advocates for open data use for agricultural research.

Electric vehicles are coming. Audi’s 2019 Super Bowl ad promises that one-third of its cars will be electric by 2025. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Nissan, Porsche, Kia, and Volvo are all launching new electric cars this year. Ford announced it will even build an all-electric F150. As battery prices come down and all-electric drive becomes more mainstream, will we see farm equipment similarly embrace this technology?

In 2014, American Farm Bureau did extensive surveying of farmers to understand their attitudes towards ag data privacy and security. The results were pretty alarming. 78% of farmers said they were concerned or “extremely concerned” about which entities can access their ag data and whether that data could be used for regulatory purposes.

Most of us are comfortable with spending money with a mouse click, smartphone swipe or voice command, so the concept of blockchain shouldn’t seem all that foreign.