Question 3: Data Ownership Clarity Important To Ag Tech Agreements

Farmers have been generating data since land started being tilled. This information may have lived in a farmer’s memory, binders on the shelf, a computer hard drive or now in the “cloud.” The third question on the path to getting the Ag Data Transparent Seal addresses data ownership: Do the tech company’s agreements with the user address ownership of user data? 

The topic of ownership is covered in our Core Principles.  Simply put, we believe farmers own information generated on their farming operations. Michael Nepveux, Economist, American Farm Bureau Federation, shares the importance of ownership clarity for their farmer members.

 “One of the most important concerns that we hear from our farmer members about working with Ag Tech providers is on the question of ownership of the data. As farmers and ranchers continue to adopt technologies that improve their efficiency, concerns over the collection of data and ownership of that data remain front of mind for producers. It is absolutely imperative for our members that before signing any contract with a technology provider they can fully understand how ownership of their valuable data will be handled. The ADT certification helps to ensure that this question of data ownership is clearly communicated to producers who decide to work with ADT certified companies.”

On our Ag Data Transparent homepage, you can click on each certified company’s logo to see their answer to this important ownership questions, as well as the other questions.

Is your Ag Technology company ready to get started on certification? Click here to take the first step to find out more.