The NAPDC: Stakeholder Input and Strategic Directions

In 2021 the United States Department of Agriculture launched a national program called the Open Data Framework (ODF). The ODF program is designed to `build a framework needed to create a neutral and secure data repository and cooperative where producers, universities and nonprofit entities can store and share data in ways that will foster agricultural innovation and will support technological progress, production efficiencies, and environmental stewardship’ [1]. A multidisciplinary team of faculty based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is leading the ODF through an effort named the National Agricultural Producers Data Cooperative (NAPDC) [2]. The NAPDC has assembled a cross-disciplinary group of participants representing multiple agroecosystems and organizations to explore producer data needs including physical and cyberinfrastructure, education and training, and policy. These needs are being addressed through funding opportunities made available through the NAPDC for pilot projects conducted by partner institutions including land grant institutions and non-profit organizations. In May 2023 the NAPDC held an inaugural All-Hands Conference at the Nebraska Innovation Campus. The conference featured presentations by national leaders in agricultural data, panel 1 discussions of stakeholders across agricultural sectors, and reports from ongoing pilot projects. Over 70 individuals from the US and Canada participated in person. Participants engaged in directed visioning exercises designed to elicit strategic directions for neutral framework development. Further information about the conference, including access to recorded presentations, can be found at the NAPDC website [2]. This report provides a summary of the strategic priorities identified at the conference, listed by topic (with brief introductions), and recommendations for the future of the framework.