Hallie Shoffner

As a farmer, I am motivated to adopt new technologies for the following reasons. 1. There is an immediate economic benefit. For example, as a specialty rice producer, if a buyer requests a "carbon-friendly" product and attaches a premium for that product attribute, I will be incentivized to invest in and adopt new practices. 2. There are immediate savings. For example, I will adopt a new irrigation practice even if it reduces yield if I see significant savings in water and energy usage. Inputs are expensive, and producing more with less is always beneficial. 3. There is institutional support. We are proud partners of the USDA in running on-farm trials. They provide the necessary equipment and expertise to evaluate new adoption methods.

As a farmer, I'm excited about the many technologies that can help me save money and time and provide the data I need to make crop and business decisions. These are important emerging trends in agribusiness innovation and entrepreneurship. However, innovation doesn't exclusively mean technology. We need diversification in American agriculture specifically from commodities to specialty crops. Farms that can grow multiple diversified crops have more resilient operations with multiple revenue streams. Farmers can command a premium for a specialty crop, thereby making more money per acre and maintaining financial sustainability. We must explore new economic models for agricultural investment and ownership of needed infrastructure.

I'm a rice farmer, and I implement regenerative farming practices to reduce the risks associated with climate change. These practices include conservation tillage, planting cover crops, and water and nitrogen conservation. But, I face several challenges. While these challenges apply to all regenerative techniques, I will focus on the specific example of cover cropping versus leaving the soil bare. 1. Money: Cover crop seed must be purchased. The "crop" is not a revenue stream, so the cost is sunk. 2. Time: Finding the time to plant a cover while harvesting other revenue-generating crops is difficult. 3. Data: Finding the right cover mix is crucial because the wrong selection will turn a cover crop into a weed the following season.

Develop a core statement to help you assess: the problem your research will address, the target audience who will benefit from the data, and the distinctiveness of your study - how does it differ from others?

Always organize your data with the report in mind. Ask yourself what your end organizational structure will be and back into that organization. Take a basic pivot table for example. If you know what data the table must show, you can organize the data source in the appropriate columns and values.

Think about the value of the data and who should benefit from that value. Think about the practical application and communication of your results with the individuals, business, or other institutions who can put that data to use. Consider carefully the story your data tells and how you can best tell that story.