By 2020, over one third of all data will live in or pass through the cloud, according to DXC Technology. As agriculture becomes more digitized, the industry is not immune to the risks of living in a digital world.
“Things are moving pretty quickly in this space,” says Lane Arthur, director, digital solutions at John Deere. “I do not expect the security threats to go down; rather, to go up in the future. As we move forward, security becomes more important. As more farmers realize they need to share their data with different groups to maximize the value they are getting out of their operations, privacy also becomes more important. Ensuring we have the right security and privacy controls in place will help.”
Successful Farming magazine talked with Arthur about data privacy and security in agriculture.
SF: How can we put farmers’ fears to rest about data breaches?
LA: Cybersecurity is a changing landscape. There are adversaries trying to disrupt a business, and there are measures you can take to keep that from happening. You have to put good practices in place around the way you write software. You have to have a team dedicated to cybersecurity and protection. You have to have engaged outside parties to help ensure you’re doing the right thing and you’re keeping up with the latest threats, because we can’t see it all. You have to have a multipronged approach. John Deere is doing everything it can with the latest technologies to protect farmers’ information.
SF: What lessons can the ag industry learn from the privacy issue at Facebook and the security issue at Equifax?
LA: In the Facebook example, how you deal with private information as a company is critically important. As part of Deere’s core values, integrity and quality are two of the main things we focus on. We are very careful about the data we share not only externally but also internally. The main lesson we can learn is to be as transparent as possible. In the Equifax example, the industry needs to ensure it uses the latest security measures.
SF: Who owns the data John Deere collects?
LA: Farmers have control over their data. They control what they do with it. They control who they share it with. They also play a key role in understanding the data policies of who they share it with. Our job is to provide a secure environment for them to do that. We also do something a little unique – we allow farmers to opt out. If they don’t want to share their data, they don’t have to.
It’s also why we became certified as Ag Data Transparent through American Farm Bureau. Having our ag data contracts audited by a third party allows us to be transparent.
SF: Why is it important for John Deere to have access to farmers’ data?
LA: Deere’s access to farmers’ data allows us to help farmers optimize their operation and improve productivity. For example, Expert Alerts lets us look at the data and predict what kind of service your machine is going to need. Because we’re looking ahead, the end result is higher levels of machine availability and better performance, while lowering the cost of total operation because farmers don’t have to deal with downtime. The information being gathered also helps us improve our products.
SF: What questions should farmers ask a company about sharing their data?
LA: I want them to ask questions like, ‘What are you doing with my data? Do you have a data privacy policy I can understand? Can I actually see where my data is going? Who has visibility into my data? If you have my data and I want another company to have my data, would you enable me to do that or not?’ These are all valid questions. Deere works hard to be clear on these things, but I also know it’s a journey.
SF: Do farmers truly understand the value of data?
LA: The majority of farmers place a really high value on their data. As a steward of farmers’ data, I take that pretty seriously.
Look at it this way: Do you value the fact that you have money in the bank? Of course you do. The bank better also value it, because it can’t afford for anything to happen to your money. That’s how I feel about farmers’ data.
SF BIO
Name: Lane Arthur
Hometown: Warner Robins, Georgia
Background: Arthur has been in the ag tech space for more than 25 years including positions with USDA, DuPont Pioneer, and more recently John Deere.
Education: Arthur received a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from the University of Georgia. He also has a master of arts, a master of philosophy, and a doctorate in genetics and development from Columbia University.