Resistance is Futile

I watched a tv program the other day on sheep farming in the Scottish Upland mountains which I found really interesting – I know but bear with me. For decades the farmers have suffered from what they call ‘black loss’ – the high number of lambs which disappear mysteriously every year, up to half of the expected number in a bad season.

No-one knows why because no bodies are ever found (scavenged by predators) and they are not tagged (impractical because the flocks are spread too far and wide and the landscape too desolate) which means they cannot trace missing lambs to their mothers to see if there is any pattern. A genuine who-dunnit.

But last year a conscious effort was undertaken to invest in tagging the ewes and, at least, collect data in terms of which have lost lambs, where and when. So far, they only have one year’s worth of good data and from a good lambing year, and acknowledge they need another 3-4 years in a variety of weather conditions to crack this Scottish X-Files.

As a passionate and self-confessed data geek, I found this story fascinating. It demonstrates the true value of data and represents the real positive outcomes that can be achieved when people know what they’re doing – in stark contrast to the ongoing news involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica which just made me angry.

This ‘black loss’ story is a role model for how to leverage the power of data the right way:

A clear and viable business case – the economic sustainability of Scottish mountain sheep farming. A logical, step-by-step approach – first, find out who is losing lambs more consistently. A focused methodology – roll out active scanning and tagging to generate and monitor the necessary data. A realistic time-frame and commitment – 5 years. And a clear and viable objective – identify the root cause of ‘black-loss’.

No ‘dark arts’ Data Harvesting or Big Data fancy about it. You can see it, touch it, get it.

It restored my faith.