Upcoming "Big Data" Seminar on August 15

I'll be speaking at a Big Data seminar in Indianapolis hosted by the Indiana Ag Law Foundation on August 15, 2014.  My topic will be "The Legal Aspects of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)."  I will be covering a number of legal issues surrounding the entrance of  UAVs (or "drones") into agricultural airspace, including Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for UAVs, the law of trespass and privacy, and constitutional concerns when government agencies use UAVs for surveillance.

The seminar will cover various other topics concerning Big Data in agriculture.  Matt Erickson, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), will provide an overview of UAV issues and AFBF's data privacy policy. Scott Beck, Vice President of Beck's Superior Hybrids, will discuss farm data privacy together with representatives from The Climate Corporation and DuPont Pioneer. To see the full agenda and list of speakers, visit www.INAgLaw.org/BigData.

Book Review: The John Deere Way

My last stop before heading to the lake for summer vacation was to the local half-price bookstore.  I was delighted when I found a previously-owned copy of The John Deere Way by David Magee, a book that promised to dive into the corporate culture of one of America's oldest corporations, Deere & Company. This book is a few years old already, but for the most part the topics are still relevant today.  Here is my book review.