DATA PERVADES THE DAIRY FARMING INDUSTRY; HOWEVER, SPECIFIC DATA STREAMS ARE MOST OFTEN AD-HOC AND POORLY LINKED TO EACH OTHER AND TO DECISION MAKING PROCESSES. WE ARE CURRENTLY AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE WHERE LARGE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED COMPANIES ARE DEVELOPING SUITES OF SOFTWARE THAT ADDRESS MANY ASPECTS OF FARM PRODUCTION, ALLOWING THEM TO CAPTURE AND CURATE THE VAST MAJORITY OF ON-FARM DATA SOURCES. THIS PRESENTS A DISTINCT OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE OPERATIONS TO LIMIT ACCESS TO THESE DATA (E.G., BY ENFORCED INTEROPERABILITY OF SOFTWARE COMPONENTS FROM THE SAME VENDOR, OR RESTRICTIVE USER AGREEMENTS). SUCH AGREEMENTS PRECLUDE ANY EXTERNAL DATA ANALYTIC IMPROVEMENTS, EFFECTIVELY CRIPPLING INNOVATION WITHIN THE INDUSTRY. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THIS PROBLEM AND DEMONSTRATES THE VALUE IN FACILITATING THE EXCHANGE OF DATA, BY USING A COLLABORATIVE AND OPEN ENVIRONMENT TO LINK DATA FROM DAIRY OPERATIONS WITH ANALYTICAL AND SERVICES. WE PROPOSE A FOUR-PART STRATEGY: (1) CREATE A COORDINATED INNOVATION NETWORK (CIN) TO SHAPE DATA SERVICE DEVELOPMENT; (2) CREATE A PROTOTYPE AGRICULTURAL DATA HUB (AGDH) TO GATHER/DISSEMINATE MULTIPLE DATA STREAMS RELEVANT TO DAIRY OPERATIONS; (3)BUILD THEDAIRY BRAIN -A SUITE OF ANALYTICAL MODULES THAT LEVERAGES THEAGDHTO PROVIDE INSIGHT TO THE MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY OPERATIONS AND SERVE AS AN EXEMPLAR OF AN ECOSYSTEM OF CONNECTED SERVICES; AND (4)DESIGN AND EXECUTE AN INNOVATIVE EXTENSION PROGRAM.TOMORROW'S DAIRY INDUSTRY WILL BE BUILT ON THE EFFECTIVE CAPTURE AND INTEGRATION OF MORE DATA STREAMS, NOT FEWER. THIS IS A CRITICAL MOMENT TO DEVELOP THE STRUCTURES THAT CAN MOVE THE INDUSTRY TOWARDS MODERNIZED DATA EXCHANGE.