Use of digital technology for research data and information transfer within the Australian grains sector : a case study using Online Farm Trials
- Authors: Ollerenshaw, Alison , Murphy, Angela , Walters, Judi , Robinson, Nathan , Thompson, Helen
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Agricultural Systems Vol. 206, no. (2023), p.
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- Description: CONTEXT: Agriculture is experiencing rapid change with the widespread availability of industry-specific technological and digital innovations. One example of this is Online Farm Trials (OFT), a user-facing web portal that systematises on-farm and field-based cropping research trial data for Australia's grains industry. The portal delivers access to research data, including legacy data, from thousands of grains trials projects that have been supplied by industry contributors. The portal is well established, having been informed by regular stakeholder input that has guided and informed the continued improvement of the portal from its development and implementation to continued operations. OBJECTIVE: Research was conducted across three time-points to assess the usage and application of OFT, and to examine its perceived impact on users to facilitate access to information supporting on-farm decision making and practice change within the Australian grains industry. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative data (portal usage and website analytics, surveys, in-depth interviews) were collected at three time points over 6 years with the aim of examining the usage and application of the portal. Portal users, data contributors, and other stakeholders from the grains and agriculture industries participated in this research. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Over the three time points, a total of 89 surveys were completed and 49 interviews were conducted. Portal usage data confirms consistency in the number of visitors over time; most users of the portal were from Australia, with many accessing the portal on multiple occasions. Survey and interview data demonstrate that OFT is valued, widely used, and that the data on the portal are being broadly applied. Access to information and data through the portal (including legacy data) is used to support knowledge and to make sector-relevant decisions, and is assisting portal users in their workplace and work practices. The availability of data and information through the portal is increasing connections between industry and stakeholders across the grains sector. However, the trust and quality of contributor data has been consistently raised as a point of discussion by some portal users. SIGNIFICANCE: This research demonstrates the contribution that this data portal has on usage, adoption and application within the Australian grains industry. The insights and learnings about the application of digital technology for data and information access for the grains sector may be applicable to other agricultural sectors. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
The Australian digital online farm trials database increases the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in grains crop research
- Authors: Walters, Judi , Light, Kate
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Crop and Pasture Science Vol. 72, no. 10 (2021), p. 789-800
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- Description: Synthesis and analysis of past cropping research can provide valuable information to direct future decisions around crop management. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are considered gold standards in the synthesis and analysis of scientific research because they distil large amounts of information about complex issues, provide a summary of knowledge to date, and identify knowledge gaps. However, several issues concerning the methodologies employed to conduct systematic reviews have been identified; among them is the risk of publication bias when a review relies too heavily on 'white' literature from published academic sources and in so doing fails identify relevant 'grey' literature. Grey literature is inherently difficult to identify and collect, but forms a large portion of information available in many fields including agricultural-based research within Australia. The Online Farm Trials (OFT) database is a digital database of crop research field trial data from across Australia that has the potential for use as a discipline-specific source of grey literature to inform systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Using a case study approach to investigate the amount of information available on time of sowing (sowing date) on crop yield across Australia, we demonstrate that the OFT database provides easy access to transparent and reproducible search results similar to other commonly used academic databases. © 2021 Journal Compilation
Using agricultural metadata : a novel investigation of trends in sowing date in on-farm research trials using the online farm trials database
- Authors: Walters, Judi , Light, Kate , Robinson, Nathan
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: F1000Research Vol. 9, no. (2021), p.1305-1305
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- Description: Background: A growing ability to collect data, together with the development and adoption of the FAIR guiding principles, has increased the amount of data available in many disciplines. This has given rise to an urgent need for robust metadata. Within the Australian grains industry, data from thousands of on-farm research trials (Trial Projects) have been made available via the Online Farm Trials (OFT) website. OFT Trial Project metadata were developed as filters to refine front-end database searches, but could also be used as a dataset to investigate trends in metadata elements. Australian grains crops are being sown earlier, but whether on-farm research trials reflect this change is currently unknown. Methods: We investigated whether OFT Trial Project metadata could be used to detect trends in sowing dates of on-farm crop research trials across Australia, testing the hypothesis that research trials are being sown earlier in line with local farming practices. The investigation included 15 autumn-sown, winter crop species listed in the database, with trial records from 1993 to 2019. Results: Our analyses showed that (i) OFT Trial Project metadata can be used as a dataset to detect trends in sowing date; and (ii) cropping research trials are being sown earlier in Victoria and Western Australia, but no trend exists within the other states. Discussion/Conclusion: Our findings show that OFT Trial Project metadata can be used to detect trends in crop sowing date, suggesting that metadata could also be used to detect trends in other elements such as harvest date. Because OFT is a national database of research trials, further assessment of metadata may uncover important agronomic, cultural or economic trends within or across the Australian cropping regions. New information could then be used to lead practice change and increase productivity within the Australian grains industry. © 2021 Walters J et al.