About Ag Connections

Development

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  Andres Ferreyra, Ph.D. Coordinator of Research and Development

  Born in Argentina, Andres has over 20 years of experience in technology R&D in the private sector and academia.

  Andres graduated as an Electric and Electronic Engineer from the University of Córdoba, Argentina (UNCOR). He worked for several years developing small instrumentation computers for industrial use, and weather satellite image reception and processing systems, as managing partner in Dexar, a company he co-owned. He later got an MS in Agronomy / Agrometeorology, also at UNCOR. Finally, he completed a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida, with a Minor in Computer Science.

  Andres’ research interests include using mathematical techniques (simulation models, nonlinear combinatorial optimization, and knowledge-based / artificial intelligence techniques) to develop very user-friendly tools that can help growers solve problems while keeping the “dirty work” of dealing with data hidden from view as much as possible. These interests brought him to Ag Connections, first as a graduate student, then as a consultant, and finally as a full-time employee.

  While working on his Ph.D. dissertation, Andres contacted Ag Connections, which had been pointed out to him as a source of high-quality precision agriculture data. In mid-2000 Andres met Rick and Pete in person, and Ag Connections began to help him collect soil water data in Suggs 4, a field in Rick’s farm.

  In late 2003, while still living in Gainesville, FL, Andres joined Ag Connections as a consultant, laying down the groundwork for what would later become Hand.db and its new tools for scouting and other spatial data handling (the latter tools will be released starting in 2009). In June of 2004, Andres moved to Murray as a full-time member of the Ag Connections Team.

  In Andres’ own words, “I work at Ag Connections because what we do here is of great consequence. Food safety is critically important in the 21st century. Globalization makes food traceability more pressing, while at the same time harder for growers to afford. Growers all over the world face the challenge of having to collect production data, and of using it to comply with regulatory mandates, complete frequent industry certification processes, and comply with production and certification protocols to add value to their crops, all in a climate of fierce competition. This can be totally overwhelming, and is one of the reasons why farms go out of business. Farmers often have a huge administrative load just to stay afloat in a market that is increasingly demanding information. We at Ag Connections are in a privileged position to help growers thrive in this environment; we can help them to quickly get value, many times, from information they collect only once and with minimum effort.”

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  Brandon Sharp Software Developer

  Brandon is a senior software developer and has been with Ag Connections since May 2002. Holding a bachelor of science in computer science from Murray State University, his emphasis is on client application development, UI design, and data architecture. He has been one of the primary developers on the Land.db project since its inception and has had a hand in several other projects and internal tools as well.

  Brandon is the Ag Connections team leader for the Technology and Code Review team and plays an active part in researching and implementing new technologies and methodologies for various projects. Developing long term direction for our technology path is critical to the usability of our products.

  Developing clean easy to use interfaces for our products is always in mind as we do our best to make the task of entering information in Land.db a natural process. Brandon strives to stay knowledgeable of current and future trends in usability and interface design so that the products that we create continue to be visibly fresh and modern while keeping the end-user experience foremost in our design philosophy.

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  Corey Perkins Software Developer

  Corey Perkins is a software engineer; he has been one of Ag Connections’ lead application developers since joining Ag Connections in 2004. Corey is an integral part of several teams at Ag Connections that work together to deliver desktop and web solutions to clients throughout the western hemisphere; he is also the “Gatekeeper” in charge of the stewardship of our data models.

  On a daily basis Corey focuses on application design/implementation using the latest Microsoft .NET Framework, the latest Microsoft Visual Studio development environment, and other well-known, proven tools/frameworks. Corey takes great pride in staying on the bleeding edge of software development and thrives in his role as mentor to his fellow developers.

  Corey received his Bachelor of Science in Business with concentration in Computer Information Systems from Murray State University in 2003.

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  Eddie Dillon Software Developer

  Eddie Dillon has been employed by Ag Connections as a software developer since 2006, specializing in software development. He has contributed to several of Ag Connections’ products, but his primary focus is as a member of the Reports Team, where he works to empower users to view large amounts of data very quickly, in well-defined, report-style formats.

  Before working for Ag Connections, Eddie was employed at Texas Roadhouse in Louisville, Kentucky. Eddie received his Bachelor of Science in Business with an area in Computer Information Systems from Murray State University in 1999.

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  Mack Harris Software Developer

  Mack Harris has been with Ag Connections since September 2004.  As a software engineer, his primary focus is to develop mapping tools and components for Land.db, Ag Connections’ flagship product. He grew up in western Kentucky raising tobacco and row crops on the family farm.  He graduated from Murray State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business in the area of Computer Systems Management in 1980.

  Prior to working at Ag Connections, Mack spent 19 years at LWD in Calvert City as a senior programmer/analyst and spent 5 years in consulting with Applied Computing Technology as a software project leader.  The software he developed during that time dealt with hazardous waste incineration, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and electric power generation and distribution.

  Mack’s many years of experience in industry and agriculture give him a solid foundation upon which to work with the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies.

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  Mark Young Software Developer

  Mark Young has been with Ag Connections since 2009 as an integration and software developer.  He develops special use software ranging from AgC Mobile and AgC Forms to information fusion and data representation.  In his own words, “I like to think of computers as working in my field.  I enjoy ‘training’ them to work for others in their fields.”  It never occurred to him that others’ fields would one day be literal fields.

  Mark grew up on the family farm in south-central Kentucky growing mostly row crops and fish. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Afterwards, he worked for IBM as an automation specialist for 5 years, an integration advisor on government contracts for 1 year, and a web application developer for 3 years.

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  Matt Crider Software Developer

  Matt Crider has been with Ag Connections since 2001, when he worked with us as a contractor, and since 2002 as a full time employee.  Matt develops web applications and manages the development of the Land.db Viewer browser. The Land.db Viewer web systems allow our users to share data, using a process they control, with partners both inside and outside their business. This gives our customers powerful opportunities to add value to their crops and to interact with business partners in novel ways.

  Prior to working with Ag Connections, Matt worked for Accela, a government services company, and Digital Jones, a company that later became part of Shopping.com. Matt graduated from Murray State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science in 1999.

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  Pilar Ard Software Developer

  Pilar Ard has been serving Ag Connections as a software engineer/ web developer since February 2004. Originally from Paraguay, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business with an area in Computer Information Systems from Murray State University in December 2003.

  She is responsible for the Land.db and Hand.db software localization to Spanish and Portuguese, as well as dealing with the support issues of customers in Mexico and Brazil. She also administers the company’s website and creates the artwork needed for paper marketing or web usage. Among the tools she uses for web, software development and graphic design you will find Adobe Master Collection CS4, the latest Microsoft Visual Studio development environment, and other tools/frameworks.

  Pilar has found helping customers from different cultures to be the most rewarding and unique part of her position at Ag Connections.

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  Shea Forrester Software Developer

  Shea Forrester is a software engineer, and has been with the company since 2004.  Shea is responsible for report development, the software installation process, and the implementation of financial software integration. 

  Shea has had the opportunity to fill a number of roles for Ag Connections over the years, ranging from Customer Support and Sales, all the way to Development.  He also has a background in agriculture, growing up on a tobacco farm. This has helped him relate to the needs of our customers, and thus develop software that closely meets their expectations.

  Shea graduated from Murray State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Computer Information Systems.

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  Stuart Rhea Software Developer

  Stuart graduated Summa Cum Laude from Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, TN in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and chemistry.  He went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois-Urbana, earning a Master of Science in Physical Chemistry in 2000, and specializing in molecular spectroscopy with focused work in analytical instrument design and data acquisition systems. After graduating, Stuart went to work as an embedded software engineer for a new product development team creating next-generation breath alcohol detection devices for commercial and law-enforcement markets.

  He joined Ag Connections in May 2007 as a software engineer. He works primarily on rapid application development within the Hand.db Team, prototyping and subsequently developing many of our newest projects, and working with a fast, agile pace that means turning on a dime quite often (which has earned him the name “The Extreme” from Andres.) Stuart works with precision agriculture data, implementing GIS functionality on the Hand.db and Land.EC platforms. He is also the primary developer in charge of communications with controllers, smartphones, telemetry systems, and other embedded devices.

  Stuart greatly enjoys the variety of projects he gets to work on, and the diversity of technologies he has at his disposal. “Every day developing at Ag Connections is new and different,” he says.

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