Name any industry undergoing rapid transition and you’ll notice a common variable: Data. We’ve talked about data in food and agriculture for years. Yet we’re only beginning to unlock the power of this tool to help us understand the potential for, and outcomes of, climate-smart agriculture.

A recent 2023 trends preview got me thinking about how access to better and more robust human dimensions data could help social purpose organizations have greater impact in the next 12 months.

Writing on LinkedIn this fall, internationally renowned futurist and author Bernard Marr shared his expectations for data trends in the New Year, irrespective of industry.

Among them, three of Marr’s 2023 data predictions seem most resonant for farmers, ranchers and other climate-smart ag leaders:

• Data Democratization: Within organizations, Marr anticipates, people at all levels will be able to access and make decisions based on deep information. Think about what this might mean for your business or nonprofit. What if everyone in the field working daily with farmers had better visibility into trends shaping that local area, that county or that state? How might such data-driven benchmarking and insights into the viewpoints of local farmers mold their effectiveness in on-the-ground practice adoption?
  
  
• Artificial Intelligence: Machines that learn rapidly will make it easier for us to sort big sets of data and draw conclusions quickly, Marr says. This has the potential to help the climate-smart agriculture community better understand the people and places where we work to sequester carbon, build soil and keep our waterways healthy.
  
  
• Real-Time Data: Increasingly, we won’t have to wait for data sets from the real world, Marr predicts. Rather, we’ll be able to gather and process insights on a rolling basis. The potential for climate-smart agriculture is especially pronounced here. Fast insights such as these could enable us to understand the potential of climate-smart education and outreach to effect changes in mindset, study the soil to see how conservation practices are influencing environmental outcomes, and much more.

Here at Trust In Food, we partner with dozens of organizations supporting farmers and ranchers in their transition to climate-smart agriculture. Human dimensions data helps us understand the individual interests and needs of producers. It also points us to places where partners can be most helpful and sheds light on messages and incentives that will resonate best. More than that, data illustrates exciting continuous improvement as farmers build on a stewardship legacy that’s many generations in progress.

We’ll discuss this topic in more depth at the Trust In Food Symposium from Jan. 23-24 in Nashville. Register to join the conversation on data capture, monitoring and reporting as well as other timely topics on innovative finance, sustainable supply chains and Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects. Kick off 2023 with a primer on key projects and opportunities to collaborate with perspectives from the entire value chain.

Yours in regenerative ag,
Amy Skoczlas Cole
President, Trust In Food™