Data Driven Agriculture Minor

Opportunities abound to expand the data revolution into agriculture by blending data science skills with agricultural knowledge.

Contact

Bruce Erickson
Agronomy Education Distance & Outreach Director
berickso@purdue.edu

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Pursuing the Data Driven Agriculture Minor allows you to gain valuable skillsets to leverage the complex data sources that are becoming increasingly important in all aspects of the agriculture industry. The minor includes courses that map to these skill sets:

  • Foundation in mathematics and statistics
  • Knowledge of data origination (sensors, surveys, web-scraping, etc.)
  • Data literacy, ethics, and management
  • Data application in agriculture disciplines
  • Data architecture and organization
  • Data-driven decisions

Why Digital Agriculture?

  • The increase in intensity and volume of data collected generates the need for increased programming and data skills.
  • Agricultural domain expertise is needed within the coding, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing communities.
  • Sensing and communication technologies continue to evolve and their applications in agriculture are growing.
  • Even with artificial intelligence and machine learning, human input will continue to be a critical input to assist with decision-making and data-inference.

Requirements for the Minor (21 Credits)

Below are the categories of the minor with common course options indicated; for full lists of courses applicable in these categories, visit the course catalog.

  • Foundation in Statistical Methods – Elementary Statistical Methods (STAT 30100)
  • Foundation in Data Literacy, Management & Analytics – Data Science (ENTM 24200)
  • Knowledge of how data is used in agriculture – Data Science for Agriculture (AGR 33300)
  • Foundation in Computation – Computing Technology with Applications (ASM 10500), Introduction to Computing for Biologists (HORT 53000), or Programming with Multimedia Objects (CS 17700)
  • Data Acquisition - Design of Electronic Systems (ABE 31400), Sensors and Process Control (ABE 46000), Remote Sensing of Land Resources (AGRY 54500)
  • Data Architecture & Usage - Computations for Engineering Systems (ABE 20500), Introduction to Data Analytics for Agricultural Business (AGEC 20201), Applied Econometrics AGEC (45100)
  • Data to Decisions - Agricultural Prices (AGEC 30500), Weather Analysis and Forecasting (AGRY 44400), Animal Breeding and Genetics (ANSC 31100) 

Why ADD a Data Driven Agriculture Minor?   

Hear Purdue alum Josh Bailey (BS ‘23 Agricultural Economics and MS’26 Agricultural and Biological Engineering ) discuss his experience with the Data Driven Agriculture Minor as an undergraduate.

Transcript for Purdue University's Data Driven Agriculture Minor Josh Bailey

Video Transcript: Josh Bailey on Purdue University's Data Driven Agriculture Minor
[00:00]
Josh Bailey: My name is Josh Bailey. I'm a second-year master's student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, focused on Digital Agriculture and Data Science.
[00:07]
I first heard about the Data Driven Agriculture minor when I was a junior, shortly after it was first offered, and I was immediately interested in it.
[00:15]
I didn't come from much of a technical background. I had been interested in some engineering topics, but I was a bit intimidated by the level of technical understanding those degrees required.
[00:24]
The Data Driven Agriculture minor was very welcoming for newcomers who wanted an overview of data science and how it can be applied in agriculture.
[00:33]
I think the Data Driven Agriculture minor was really important for me, especially as I continued into graduate school and refined my research interests in digital agriculture.
[00:41]
I'm very focused on sensor systems and low-power wide-area networks. I do data science at some level nearly every day.
[00:49]
I think data science will be important in all parts of agriculture in the future, whether you're in industry, research, as I am currently, or back on the farm.
[00:57]
This minor is a great way to begin learning those concepts and developing skills in the area.
[01:02]
I didn't have to add any extra semesters to pursue the minor. It involved some additional workload because I was a transfer student and already had another minor.
[01:09]
Overall, I thought the value was high enough to justify the extra work.
[01:16]
In general, agriculture is becoming more data driven.
[01:19]
As researchers, we use data on a daily basis for planning and analyzing experiments.
[01:26]
In industry, data is used for business strategy, marketing and communication campaigns, and even product development.
[01:33]
On farms, beyond traditional financial and yield analysis, new data sources such as drones, sensors, satellites, and computer vision systems are providing enhanced information that can help improve operational efficiency.
[01:49]
I think having an understanding of how to work with that data will be important regardless of the area you choose to pursue within agriculture.
[01:57]
End of transcript.

Complementary Credentials

With good planning, students obtaining this Data Driven Agriculture Minor can also receive a Certificate in Applications of Data Science. 

For more information regarding the Data Driven Agriculture Minor, please contact Bruce Erickson, berickson@purdue.edu