GROWER INFORMATION SERVICES COOPERATIVE

StatementofBillyTiller

BeforetheCommitteeonAgricultureU.S.HouseofRepresentatives

Washington,D.C.–October28,2015

Goodmorning.MynameisBillyTiller,andIama4thgenerationfamilyfarmerinLambandBaileyCountiesofTexas.Forthoseofyouwholikegeographylikeme,weareaboutaonehourdrivenorthwestofLubbock,TexasnearaverylittletowncalledBula,justsouthofabiggerlittletowncalledSudan.Itisagreatarea.Wegrownon-irrigatedcrops–mainlycotton,grainsorghum,andsunflowers.Ihavealsoruncattle,havepresidedovertheoperationsatalocalbank,andforthepast5yearsnow,Ihavebeenworkingaroundinnovationsin,andanalyzingtheimplicationsof“BigDatainAgriculture”–thetopicofyourhearingtoday.LetmesaythatIamveryhonoredtobewithyou.

IamheretodayasaCo-founderandthecurrentDirectorofBusinessDevelopmentforGrowerInformationServicesCooperative(GiSC–www.GiSC.coop).GISCisafarmer-ownedandfarmer-ledcooperativethatisbuiltaroundtheideathatinformation–thedata–generatedfromthefarmingoperationhastremendousvalue,andfarmersshouldbeputinthebestpositionpossibletoharvestthisvalue.Inasentence,GISCseekstoaccomplishgrowerdataownershipbygivingthegrowerbettertoolstoindex,store,protect,shareandtherebyusetheirdata.

Thisideathatinformationandevenrawdatageneratedfromthefarmcanbeavaluablecommodityisnotnecessarilynew,butthepaceoftechnologyandinnovationsweepingthroughthesectorkeepsthisrealityandworldofpossibilitieseverchanging.GISC’stiminghasbeenveryfortunate.Inthetestimonythatfollows,Iwillexplainwhywecametotheconclusionthatgrowersneedacooperativetohandledata,theservicesweareprovidingtoday,andthechallengesweseeforthefuture.

BriefHistoryofGiSC

TheconceptofGiSCbeganin2010,asdiscussionbetweenmyselfandtheotherco-founderMontyEdwards.Montywasaveryprogressiveanddynamicyoungcropinsuranceagentwhoalsohappenedtobea5thgenerationfarmerandgoodfriend.AswestruggledwiththeimmensepaperworkinvolvedinFSAandCropInsurance,heandIbegandevelopingawaytomoveinformationmoreefficientlybetweenmyfarmandcertainfarmserviceproviders.Duringthisexercisewerealizedtheprobleminagriculturewasnotsomuchtheneedformoretechnology,buttheneedforintegrationofcurrentandfuturetechnologiestoprovidemean“end-to-end”viewofmyfarm’soperations.

Weconcludedthat"bigdata”wouldonlybenefitthefamilyoperationifweasfarmershadameanstoorganizethedata.Wealsoconcludedthatfarmerscouldonlyfindvalueinthedevelopingagriculturaldatamarketiftheyhadameanstoaggregatetheirdataandthisneededtobedonewithatrustedentity.Therefore,intheearlydaysofGiSC,wesettledontwoareasoffocus:

1. DevelopasecuredataplatformwhichcouldintegrateandstoredatafromthemyriadoftechnologiesadoptedbytheAgcommunity.Thissameplatformwouldalsoneedtoallowgrowerstosharedatawithotherswhileprovidingthemsolecontrolovertheparametersofdatasharing.

2. FormallylaunchGiSCtobeafriendofthefarmer/rancherandbegintocreateaplanfordatagovernancewiththegrower’sinterestinmind,includingthepremisethatthegrowerownsallthedatathatoriginatesonhisoperationorhisoperation’sactivities.

Weallknowthelast100yearsofhistoryhavebeenmarkedbysomemajorrevolutionsinagriculture.Themechanicalrevolutionbroughtmyfatherandhisfatherinnovationsthatchangedtheveryfabricofcivilization.Thissameever-improvingmechanizationhasbroughtmeclimatecontrolledcabs,more(mechanical)horsepower,andmuchimprovedsafetymechanisms,allofwhichhaveimprovedlifeonthefarm.Myfatheralwayssaid,“Son,youarelivinginthegoldenageoffarming.”

Wehavesincewitnessedgiantleapsinscientificandagronomicinnovations:fromhybridseeds,tobetterfertilizers,herbicides,pesticides,andfungicides.Inthelast20years,wehaveseentheanotherwaveofscientificrevolutioninvolvingbiotechnology.Alloftheseinnovationshavemadefarmingmoreproductiveandhavemadethefarmerabetterstewardoftheland,aswehavereducedtheuseofwater,fuel,herbicidesandpesticides.Thesescientificinnovationscontinuetodayasfurtheradvancesinbiotechnologyarepushingtheupperboundariesofyieldandstretchingperceivedwaterlimitationsthroughadvancesingenetics.

Ivaluealltheseexperiencestremendously.Ivaluethemforthetremendousimpacttheyhavehadforhumanity.Ialsovaluethembecausetheyhaveshapedmythoughtsabouthowtomakesurethatfutureinnovationsareinthebestinterestofagricultureproducers.

AsItestifyheretoday,Ibelieveanotherrevolutioninagricultureisoccurringnow–andthatistheInformationRevolution.Itisbuiltonprecisionagriculture,whichinvolvestheintegrationofcomputingpower,satellites,andsoftwarethatisincreasinglybeingutilizedtobringtheAmericanfarmerintoa“bravenewworld”ofautomationandoperationalanalysis.ItinvolvesGPSguidancesystems,recordingoperationalactivityinfields,andprogrammedapplicationscustomizableatthefieldandsubfieldlevels.Indeed,weareacceleratingtowardatimewhentheproducerwillutilizeallavailablesourcesofinformation,decipheredintelligentlytooperatemoreefficientlyanddecisively.Thisisthe“bigdata”opportunitywithinagriculture.

SotheInformationRevolutionishappening.Thisisveryexciting.Buttherearesomeproblemsandhurdlestoovercome.

WeatGiSCthinkprecisionagricultureasweknowittodayhasonefundamentaldrawback.Itcreateswhatisreallyanoverwhelmingamountofdatathatisdifficulttoassimilate,especiallywithouttoolstointegrateandsynchronizedatacreatedbyvarioussources.Sothedata-poorenvironmentofagriculture’spastisnowdata-rich,butwelackanyrealeffectivewaytohandlealltheinformationthatisbeingfunneledintotheagriculturalproducers’managementsystems.

Toomuchinformationisalmostimpossibletomanage,especiallysincetheindividualproducer’sdataisanisland.Thefarmercangethishandsonmoreinformationabouthisfarmingoperationthanatanyothertimeinhistory,butthatinformationiscurrentlyforhiseyesonly.Thefarmerisatalossastohowtoaccomplishthetaskofsharinghisinformationwithanotherparty.

Theinformationagehasbroughtnotonlyinformationfrominternalsourcesthatareattheproducer’sdisposal,butalsoinformationfrommanyoutsidesources.HereceivesdataandinformationfromtheFarmService

Agency,cropinsuranceagents,accountants,chemicalvendors,spraypilots,fertilizerdealers,cottongins,marketingpools,grainelevators,equipmentdealers,cropconsultants,realestatebrokers,etc.Thelistgoesonandon.

Nowlookatthegrower’sdatadilemma:notonlydoesthegrowerhavehisownislandofincompatibleandunassimilateddata,buttherearealsothirdpartydataislands.Thegrowerneedsbothtoprovidedataandreceivedatafromthoseparties.ThisisthecorereasonGiSCwasformed–tobethesolutionthatbridgestheseislands,integratingandassimilatingthegrower’sdisparatedataandprovidingdigitalconnectionswiththosethatprovideservicestohisoperation.

GiSCToday:

Asnoted,GiSCisadatacooperativeownedbygrowers.Itwasfoundedonthenotionthatgrowersneedaneasywaytosecurelystoreandaccesstheirinformation,andtosharethatinformationwiththosewhoserveandsupportthem.GiSC,ineverysense,is“BuiltbyGrowers,ForGrowers”™.

Thecooperativewasbirthedasanideain2010,butformallycharteredinlate2012.Todaywehave1,300membersin37statesandaregrowingdaily.ThemapbelowillustratesGiSC’sfootprint.

GiSCFootprint(mapabove)

Beyond1,300growersinmembership,weestimatethatwehavehaddirectpersonalcommunicationswithover10,000growers.Theseconversationsindicatedthat99.9%ofthosegrowersthinkformingGiSCwasagoodidea.Somethoughtitwassuchagoodidea,theyjoinedimmediately.Evenmoreexciting,mostthatdidnotjoinimmediatelyleftuswiththeimpressionthattheywouldjoinsoonafterwedeployedourplatformtechnology,AgXchangeTM.ThisplatformforgrowershasjustbeendeployedandisavailabletoallgrowerswhoaremembersofGiSC.

ThepointisthatGiSCisgainingrealtraction,andin2015,wehavebeguntotransitiontheoperationsfrommostlyvolunteerworkbytheearlyfounders,toemployeesthatspendeverydayansweringgrowers’questionsconcerningdata,systems,andprivacy.Inthesummerof2015,GiSCannouncedthehiringorMr.JasonWardtobethefirstExecutiveDirectorofGiSC.Mr.Wardbringstwodecadesofexperienceinmarketingandagriculturalcooperativemanagement,andwillleadthestaffinservicetothegrowermembersastheAgXchangeTMplatformisdeployed.

UponjoiningGiSC,Mr.Wardsummedupourcurrentmissionwell,stating,“Informationisthenew,andemerging,cashcropforagricultureandIbelievethegrowershouldbeattheforefrontofthatmovement.Thefirststepforeverygroweristomakesureheorsheistakinganactiveroleinowningandcontrollinghisorherdata.”

Thismissionisbeingcarriedoutthroughthreeprimaryobjectives:

1)Establishtheprecedentthatgrowersshouldownandcontroltheinformationanddatarelatedtotheirproductionagricultureoperations.

2)Offergrowersaprivateandsecurecloud-basedplatformcalledAgXchange™(www.AgXchange.com),wheretheycanstorealloftheinformationrelatedtoatheiroperation,andprovidetheirtrustedthirdpartiesacommunicationchannelforexchangingdata,digitaldocuments,andinformation.AgXchange™,willhavethefunctionalitytoorganizeagrower’sinformationgeographicallybyamapofagrower’sfarmorlandunits.CentraltoGiSC’smission,thegrowerwillbeincontrol–thegrowerwilldictatewhomaysenddatatothegrower’sdatarepositoryoraccessthedataintherepositoryandmaylimittheaccessgrantedtohisorherrepository.

3)ReturnvaluebacktothegrowermembersofGiSC.AsthenetworkofinformationandconnectionsincreasesinAgXchange™,thevalueofthatnetworkincreases.GiSC,willdeliverpatronagedividendsbacktoitsgrowermembersfromprofitsgenerated.

TheImportanceofIndexingDataandtheCLU:

Ioperateafarmthatproducesreamsofdatafrommanysources.Infact,Iamproducingandprocessingmoredatathanatanyothertimeinmyhistory,becauseitissoeasywithdevicessuchasmysmartphone.ManyonlyconsidermyPrecisionAgdataasthedatathatrunsthefarm,butitismuchmoreencompassing.HereisviewofmyfarmdatainvarioussilosoutsideofGISC:

TypesofFarmData(imageabove)

MuchoftheinformationIhavetodayiscloud-basedprecisionagriculturedata,butmuchofmydataisstillinpaperformoradigitalformofpapersuchasapdffile.Imustbeabletoutilizeboth.

HowcanweindexthisdatainawaythathelpsGiSCprovideaBigDatapictureforagriculture?Thesensibleansweristhis:tieitbacktotheland;useamap;geospatiallyreferenceasmuchdataaspossible.Farmershavealwayskepttrackofthingsbyfarmsorlandunits.Thelandunitoperatesmuchlikeafactory,whereallmanufacturingistakingplaceduringthegrowingseasonforageographiclocation.Accordingly,weneededtoreferenceanydatawecouldbacktothelandunit.AllofthecomponentsofAgXchangeTMhingeonthismostbasicunit.

Manyoperationalmapsthatgrowersuse,includingprecisionagmaps,wereresearched,astheorganizationalbackboneforgeospatialreferenceddata.Theconclusionofthisresearchwasthatonemapwasheadandshouldersabovetherestforoperatingasthatbackbone:theFarmServiceAgency(FSA)CommonLandUnit(CLU)maplayer.AllU.S.farmsregisteredwithFSAhavebeengeospatiallydefinedasaunitorunits,knownasCommonLandUnit(s).Istatethismatteroffact,butthiswasamonumentalundertaking.FSAemployeesfromacrosstheU.S.,inacoordinatedeffort,drewtheboundarylinesfortheCLUs.ThiswasperhapsoneofthegreatestfeatseveraccomplishedbyFSAwithoutmuchpublicknowledge.FSAmanagesandkeepsthisCLUupdatedforitsusetoadministerfarmprogramsandincreasinglyforRMAtoindexcropinsurancetothesamelandunit.

Asstatedabove,GiSCanditsmemberfarmerssawtheCLUmapsasthesolutiontoindexalldata.However,theCLUmapsanddataarestillnotreadilyavailableeventothefarmersitismeanttoserve.

The2008FarmBillrestrictedpublicaccesstotheCLUlayerwhenconnectedtoanypersonallyidentifiableinformation.WeatGiSCstronglyagreewithlimitingpublicaccesstogrower’sfarmdata,andIpersonallyappreciatethestepstakenbyCongressinthispriorfarmbilltoprotectme.The2008FarmBillalsoprovidedaneededexception,allowingthegrowertorequesthisCLUdatafromFSA.Thiswasgoodforthegrowerin

principle,butthereisnosimplemethodforgrowerstoaccesstheirCLUdata,muchlessanaffordableandeasy-to-useGISsystemtovieworusetheCLUmaplayer.

GiSChasworkeddiligentlywithFSAsince2012tounderstandwhatwouldbeneededbyFSAtosharetheCLUandotherfarmerinformationwithagrower,andGiSChasdevelopedastrongrelationshipwithFSAanditsstaffduringtheprocess.FSAhasthoughtfullyworkedtofindwaystomovethisprocessforward,whilealsobeingverycarefultoprotectproducerprivacy.ThroughaMemorandumofUnderstandingbetweenGiSCandFSA,wearenowreceivingsomeproducers’CLUinformationonbehalfofthegrowers,withtheirconsent.WeexpectthiscapabilitytocontinuetoexpandasweworkthroughthelegalandtechnicalissueswithFSA.

Thefarmer’sCLUlandlayer,integratedintoGiSC’splatform,makesforaveryuserfriendlysystem.ThisisthestartofhowGiSCcanhelpfarmersmanagetheirmanysilosofdataandindexitinawaythatcanmakethedatauseful.Itprovidesameaningfulwaytodisplaytheinformationforthegrowerandthosewithwhichheorshewishestosharedatawithinoursystem.WeexpectthatFSAwillmakeevengreaterstridesin2016fordeliveryofrealtimedatatotheircustomers,andthiswill,inturn,benefitGiSC’smembershipasGiSCisabletodelivermoredataanddataanalyticstoitsfarmermembers.

Finally,IwouldalsoberemissifIdidnotthankthisCommitteeforincludingsomeveryimportantprovisioninthe2014FarmBilltoprovideresourcesforandgenerallypromotetheelectronicexchangeofdatabetweenfarmersandtheUSDA.

TheImportanceofAggregatingandtheAgXchangeTMPlatform:

Themap-basedCLUlayeralonedoesnotprovideafarmerwithavenuestointeract;therefore,asystemneedstobeininplacetoutilizeit.ProvidingsuchasystemwastheinspirationforAgXchangeTM,andcontinuestobeoneofthefundamentalvaluepropositionsoftheAgXchange™platform.

AgXchangePlatformView(imageabove)

Asstatedearlier,weatGiSCdeterminedtherewasaneedintheindustryforagrower-controlledplatformthatwouldbeopentoallserviceandtechnologyproviderstoparticipate.Thiswouldprovideaneutraltechnology

tool,allowinggrowerstoeasilycollectdatafromalloftheproprietarysystemsanddisparateclouds,organizeandtranslateitintosomethingmeaningful.TheCLUlayeristheorganizingpointthatmakesgeo-referencingpossible,butitistheAgXchange™thatempowersgrowerstobebetterdecisionmakers,andenablesserviceandtechnologyproviderstogiveusbetterproductsandservices.

GiSCisattemptingtomovetheindustryinthedirectionofenablinggrowerstohaveanend-to-endviewoftheiroperationsjustlikeanEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)platforminotherindustries.Butwhathasbeenlackingisatechnologyneutralmiddlemanthatcansolvetheindustry’sdataacquisitionandintegrationproblem.GiSCanditspartnersaimtofillthatgapandbetheaggregatorofagriculturaldata,whetheritisfromJohnDeereequipment,CaseIHequipment,oranyotherprecisiondatatechnologyprovider. LastWordtoFarmersinthisNewWorldofBigData:

Farmersneedadataaggregatoranddataintegratortohelpthemreapallthebenefitsofbigdataanditsimplicationstoagriculture.Wecannotjustsitonthesidelinesandwonderhowitwillallturnout,trustingthatthetremendousfor-profitagriculturetechnologyproviderswilluseourinformationonlyforourgoodratherthanreturnstotheirownshare-holders.WeneedtobeproactivebyjoiningforceswithgroupssuchasGiSC,togivefarmersavoice.

Growersmusthaveaccesstodatatheyownandtheymustdeviseapplicationsandpathstobringthedatabacktotheirbarn.Wemustremainvigilantasgrowerswiththeagreementsthatarecurrentlybeingutilizedbysomevendorsthattaketherightstoourdataandourfuturedataifweusethesoftwareorhardwareofthatparticularvendor.Wealsoneedtorealizethatsomeoftheseagreementsgivethesecompaniestherighttoaworldwidelicensetouseourdatainanywaytheypleaseandinmostcasesforfree.

Tothispoint,itisimportantthatallfarmersknowtheimportantworkthathasbeendone–thanksinlargeparttotheleadershipoftheAmericanFarmBureau,tobringallparties–growergroupsandtechnologyproviders–

tothetabletohammeroutasetofprinciplesthatshouldgoverncontractsinthisarea.Thiswasandisanimportantpieceofworkforgrowerseverywhere.

SubsequenttotheagreementonPrinciplesforDataPrivacy,GiSCiscurrentlyinvolvedinaninitiativealongsidecommoditygroupsandAgriculturalTechnologyProviders(ATPs)todevelopaneasytounderstandmetricthatinformsproducerswhattheyareagreeingtowhentheysignorclicktoacceptdatatermsanduseconditionsfromATPs.Wefeelitisimperativethatproducersknowupfrontwhohasaccesstoandcansharetheirdatasotheycanmakeinformeddecisionsabouttheproductsandservicestheydeployontheiroperation.

Finally,IwouldjustsaytoallgrowerseverywherethatyouwillbeimpactedbytheInformationRevolution,whetheryouchoosetoparticipateornot.Informationispowerful,andwedonotwanttobeatthemercyofothers,norshouldwebeinformation-poorasgrowers.Thefarmermustremainthepremierfountofknowledgeandinformationabouthisfarm.

LastWordtotheU.S.HouseCommitteeonAgriculture:

AstheCommitteecontinuestoweighinnovationsandimplicationsofbigdatainagriculture,GiSCwouldencourageyoutokeepsomeimportantprinciplesinmind.

First,pleasebeawareofthecriticalimportanceoftheprovisionsofthe2008FarmBillwhichprotectproducerprivacyaroundanygeo-spatialdata.WhilewesupporteffortstomakeiteasierforaproducertoattainhisorherCLUandrelatedfarm-leveldata,wedonotbelievethereisalegitimatepublicpurposetobegainedinsharingsuchinformationwithotherswhomightask.WeappreciatethatyouunderstandthatthereisarighttoprivacyinourfarmlocationsandourCLUs.

Second,webelieveitisimportanttokeepUSDAinthemiddleofmaintainingthestandardsforagriculturaldataandthemostup-to-datestatisticsavailabletomaintaintransparencyandsanctityinthemarkets.Objectiveandstandardizedmeasuresandsetsofdatacreatealevelplayingfieldandthusbenefitallparticipantsinthemarketplace.GiSCbelievesinthisprinciple,anditiswhyweareindexingourdataaroundtheCLU.

Third,whileUSDA’sroleinthequalityandstandardsfordataisimportant,webelievethemarketplaceshouldbethesourceofnewinnovationsintheworldofbigdata.Thereareworldsofopportunity,andthereneedstobeprofitdriversthatcontinuetofueltheresearchanddevelopmentneededthatwillcontinuethisinformationrevolution.Maintainingstrongindependentfamilyfarmsisalsokeytokeepingbalanceinthismarketplace.Tothisend,wehopethatyouwillcontinuelistentothecommodityandgrowerorganizationsthathavethegrower’sinterestatheart.

Finally,IwouldaskthatyoucontinuetolookforwaystoautomatetheprocessofdatadeliveryfromUSDAtothegrowers.GiSCisawillingpartnerinthetask,andwewillcontinuetoworkhandinglovewithUSDAtotryandunderstandhowtokeepthegrowerinthedriver’sseatofthisnewdigitalworldofbigdata.

ThankyoufortheopportunitytotellyouabouttheworkofGiSCandoureffortsonbehalfoftheAmericanfarmer.Thankyouforallthehardworkyoudoonbehalfagricultureandforthebestinterestofthisgreatnation.