G-8 Conference Highlights Importance Of Open Data In Ag

The G-8 Open Data For Agriculture Conference kicked off with an announcement from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack on the new virtual community launched on Data.gov.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with Bill Gates, and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, kicked off a two-day international open data conference, saying that data "is among the most important commodities in agriculture" and sharing it openly increases its value.

Secretary Vilsack, as head of the U.S. Government delegation to the conference, announced the launch of a new "virtual community" as part of a suite of actions, including the release of new data, that the United States is taking to give farmers and ranchers, scientists, policy makers and other members of the public easy access to publicly funded data to help increase food security and nutrition.