SwineSmarts; hassle-free data flows

Data combined from different sources around the farmer, if flowing safely and hassle-free, will bring value, says Aaron Ault, spokesman for the prize winning team. Their solution SwineSmarts closes feedback loops by linking slaughter data back to the farmer and to his suppliers of feed and genetics, thus bringing value to each. The prototype of this idea earned the team a golden pig awarded by Mr. Kofi Anan, a cheque worth 2500€ and potentially follow-up to their idea.  

Slaughter data like health, muscle and fat percentages are usually accessible for the farmer involved, but except from some general notions, he cannot learn much from these data as it is in retrospect and there is no translation back to his daily management. Despite availing of detailed data from feeding stations, the effect of feeding decisions can only be evaluated in the live animals. And since the farmer does not collect the slaughter data in a systematic way, others down the line, like the companies supplying the farmer with genetics or feed, cannot get access to these data at all. Letting the farmer collect and forward the data is not a solution: a farmer is not a data dispatcher. Instead, data flows should be controllable by the farmer, without the farmer having to handle the data.

By using SwineSmarts the fictional pig farmer Pete can authorize the slaughter house to share data. For such secure, safe and seamless data sharing, SwineSmarts makes use of the OADA (open agricultural data alliance) data governance solution. OADA is like a data flow regulator, allowing specific data from different sources, to flow for specific objectives, in a way that is hassle free yet controllable for the farmer. 

See the SwineSmarts pitch slides below. Spokesman Aaron Ault explains it also in this video.