This week is little different and not my normal talk, but please read it out and heck watch/listen to the video below or within all major podcast places as tradition! You'll get it I feel, plus it's easier to do it this way.

I'm reformatting my podcasts and newsletter...again... Hang with me, it's an evolution!

Robots and automation are growing and growing in Ag. I saw some of that this last week and I'll say I'm a little more optimistic in their abilities. At the same time, mixed with AI there are some dire realities to think through as well. More on this to say the least... 

We've created so many things that are specific to Ag, but at the same time it uses similar processes to the largest tech companies out there that most use. Should we be building things in our own realm as much or should we use what they have and build with it? More on this. 

In times of uncertainty, sometimes the best thing one can do is call someone up and just talk and figure out a way to help each other. That's what AgTech needs to do right now and it works. I've experienced it. So, that's what I'm talking about this week.

While there are countless options and solutions out there that one can use on a farm, some just don't. Some things just don't work well together either or in certain areas due to the types of crops and even lay of the land. I discuss more on this. 

I talk about something Elon came up with (I think) called the Idiot Index. It's the cost the make a product divided by the cost of the raw materials to make it. Basically the higher the ratio the more opportunity exists for value to shift things. AgTech is high right now, but it's changing too. More on that here.

It's pretty much in the title, but this is one of the big AgTech shows of the year and it's where I known the most people. Here is my highlights and thoughts from the show. 

In this episode, I finally lay out what I’ve been hinting at—a new direction built from something very real. After 30 years in AgTech, growing up inside it, building it, watching where it works and where it fails, I’ve decided to take a copy of our Satshot GIS engine and turn it into something new.

Something open. Something others can build on. I’m calling it OpenFMIS. An open-core geospatial framework for agriculture. This isn’t another platform trying to lock people in. It’s a foundation. A base system that handles the core stuff everyone keeps rebuilding—field boundaries, users, layers, roles, and connections to things like imagery, weather, prescriptions, and more.

The point is: we’ve been missing trust, structure, and a common way to actually build this all that fits how farming works, not the other way around. I talk about what’s broken, what I’ve lived through, and why I’m not doing this just to shake things up. I’m doing it because I believe we need something different. Something that gives farmers control over their digital world. Something developers and ag companies can actually build on together, without having to start from scratch.

This is my Hail Mary, but it’s not just hope. It’s action. I’ve got the tech, the vision, and the scars and understanding to back it. I just need the right people to join in. So if you’ve ever felt like we’re missing the mark in this industry, this episode and concept is for you. Let’s build something better together.

We can talk and talk about all the great and weird things AI can do in Agriculture and yes it's real and not going away, but there is also a lot more to it then just what it is capable of doing. We have to trust it and feel comfortable using it much like the internet itself. There is more emotion tied to it though than I think most think. That's what I'm talking about in this episode.

We often all have great ideas to solve big problems and Ag in no different. When we bridge tech in the mix it gets fun as you can fake it make it sort of a lot easier than say making a tractor. Well, let's talk about it then...