Open Farming Hackdays
- Hackathon
Agriculture is in upheaval and faces major challenges. Digitalisation promises many possible solutions and innovations. Get involved for a sustainable and productive Swiss agriculture that secures food for the Swiss population. Get involved for the agriculture of tomorrow.
Take part in the first Open Farming Hackdays and develop new digital solutions for Swiss agriculture in interdisciplinary teams within 32 hours! You can get a first glimpse of the Open Farming Hackdays in the trailer on YouTube.
Where: Landwirtschaftliches Zentrum Liebegg, Gränichen AG
When: 4–5 September 2020
The Open Farming Hackdays are a two-day event offering the opportunity to develop new ideas and creative solutions for Swiss agriculture together. All farmers, farm tech fans and all interested designers, programmers, data analysts, students and other creative minds with an interest in agriculture are invited. Our experience shows that such collaborative and interdisciplinary formats (we call them “Hackdays”) make a valuable contribution to developing new solutions for complex challenges.
Let’s build the sustainable and smart agriculture of the future together.
What are the project ideas and datasets?
Why Open Farming Hackdays?
The challenges facing agriculture are constantly growing. On the one hand, new pests and diseases keep finding their way into Switzerland, forcing the use of plant protection products and thereby causing high costs. On the other hand, the requirements for product quality, resource use and environmental protection have risen massively – while product prices are falling. The two initiatives “For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides” and “For clean drinking water” call for plant protection products to be abandoned or reduced respectively. In addition, climate change calls for a rethink in how land is farmed. Digitalisation promises many possible solutions and innovations, for example to use plant protection products in a more targeted way. But other key topics are also pressing, such as the fight against rising production costs, better cost awareness, marketing in the age of social media and the use of blockchain technology.
For the first time, Hackdays are being organised for the agricultural sector in the canton of Aargau. At the Aargau Open Farming Hackdays, creative ideas and prototypes are to be developed on the basis of open agricultural data (Open Farming Data) in order to support the ecological intensification of agriculture sought by the Confederation. In future, producers are to receive data-based applications and tools that enable them to farm more efficiently and sustainably.
How can I take part?
The Open Farming Hackdays are open to everyone who is interested. Our goal is to bring together interdisciplinary teams who jointly develop new ideas and solutions in two days. We would like to give everyone the chance to put them to active use for agriculture and to take part. We are trying to open up the topic of agriculture to the wider population and to create points of contact. This creates better understanding on both sides.
What is the plan?
Friday, 4 September 2020
From 09:00 welcome (coffee & Zopf)
10:00 – 11:00 Welcome, presentations of the challenges
11:00 – 11:30 Forming the teams to work on the challenges
11:30 – open end Work on the challenges (“hacking”)
Saturday, 5 September 2020
8:00 – 14:00 Continued work on the challenges
15:00 – 16:00 Presentation of the results, farewell
From 16:00 Apéro
Accommodation
The Open Farming Hackdays take place at the Landwirtschaftliches Zentrum Liebegg. Limited space is available for overnight stays. Please register for accommodation or bring your own sleeping bags and mats if you want to stay overnight on site.
Why should I take part?
“The exciting challenges are what motivated me most. I felt that I would have the chance to be creative and to get to know people from other sectors and perspectives. And that’s how it was. Achieving a meaningful goal, the interdisciplinary exchange and the great spirit – the Hackdays fully met my expectations!” – Quote from a participant of the Energy Data Hackdays 2019.
o You see concrete approaches to solving existing challenges.
o You are creative and enjoy creating ideas in a team.
o You want to do your part for a modern and sustainable agriculture that secures our daily food in Switzerland.
o Expand your network with diverse contacts from the scene.
o Learn more about new developments in farm tech and modern agriculture.
o Present a challenge and motivate the experts to develop it further with you.
o You might receive support for the further development of your project.
We encourage women to take part: it would be a shame to miss out on your valuable insights, spread the word!
What are the project ideas and datasets?
Would you like to do more than just take part – to actively prepare your own challenge (“challenge“) and present it at the Hackdays? Do you have data that would be usable and interesting for working on challenges? Would you like to join as a partner? Then please contact us at andrea.allemann@opendata.ch.
Here you will find a continuously updated overview of the challenges already submitted.
We will soon provide an overview of open agricultural data.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to take part in the Open Farming Hackdays?
Thanks to sponsorship from Aargauische Kantonalbank AKB and the organising bodies, the Open Farming Hackdays are free of charge.
Meals (including breakfast), electricity, basic workspace infrastructure and internet are also provided.
Do I need a project idea or a team to take part?
No, anyone who is interested, open-minded and wants to get involved is welcome. But it is also possible to come as a team. At the start of the Hackdays, various project ideas and challenges will be presented. You can work on the project idea that inspires you most.
Are the Open Farming Hackdays only for developers?
No, the Hackdays are aimed not only at developers, but also at farmers, designers, energy specialists, journalists, lateral thinkers & doers. Please register here.
Do I have to stay on site for 32 hours?
No, that is not necessary either. What matters is that you contribute to the success of the project you have chosen and agree with your team when and where you work.
What is the official language?
The language at the Open Farming Hackdays is German. Within the teams, you are of course free to decide which language you use with each other.
What do I need to bring?
Most importantly: don’t forget your laptop. You may also want to bring your notebook, pens etc. However, we will provide you with basic materials such as paper, flipchart, Post-its, food and drinks.
What happens afterwards?
One thing is clear: the results of the Open Farming Hackdays remain the property of the team.
With the Open Farming Hackdays projects, we want to achieve a long-term and sustainable impact. Accordingly, the partner organisations are happy to continue supporting and promoting promising projects and results as best they can.
We abide by the hackcodeofconduct.org.
Organisation & sponsorship
The Open Farming Hackdays are an initiative of the Landwirtschaftliches Zentrum Liebegg, the Opendata.ch association and the Hightech Zentrum Aargau. The sponsor is Aargauische Kantonalbank AKB. The other partners are listed below with their logos.
If you would like to support the event as a supplier of agricultural data, with challenges or with committed people, please contact us at andrea.allemann@opendata.ch.
Sponsor
Organisers
Partners
