london

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

What data have you opened to the world lately?

In a time of increased global challenges in food and agriculture, a shared approach is essential to developing solutions for us all.  That’s why the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) remains determined to make agricultural and nutritional data available, accessible, and usable for unrestricted use worldwide.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA's rich science and research portfolio.

Exciting times are ahead for the future of global agriculture, development, and health.  On October 31, the US delegation returned from successfully launching the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative at the Open Government Partnership Summit in London. GODAN, a partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom governments, focuses on opening agricultural and nutrition data. Working with over 50 partners, GODAN expects to keep the momentum rolling, welcoming additional partners to join the initiative before the first GODAN partner meeting.

On June 8^th, during the Nutrition for Growth event in London, the United Kingdom and United States governments announced plans to launch the Global Open Data Initiative for Agriculture and Nutrition.  This, in turn, built on the G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture conference in late April, where I witnessed a successful coming together of innovators sharing new ways to make agriculturally-relevant data accessible to users around the world.  That goal is gaining momentum, and I am pleased to see a global initiative being formed on this critical issue because we must work together to achieve a “data revolution” for agriculture.

But it will only be successful if others come forward to join us, and I hope others will join us as we use data as another tool to help produce and feed people with safe, nutritious food.

The United Kingdom (UK) has long played an important role in U.S. agricultural exports. This history dates back to the completion of the Erie Canal in the early 1800s, which linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard, significantly increasing the export of food, particularly Midwestern wheat, to England.

To this day, the United Kingdom offers tremendous opportunities for U.S. agriculture and the United States exports more than $1.6 billion annually in agricultural, fish and forestry products to the UK. Many of these products are showcased each year during USDA-endorsed trade shows, such as the International Food Exhibition (IFE), which took place in London in March.

Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess, hosted an informal round table discussion with farmers during the Farm Science Review, being held this week in London, Ohio.  Having grown up in Darke County, Ohio, Coppess felt right at home talking to farmers from the surrounding area.