People love to talk about turning points, or tipping points, negative or positive.
The widespread use of data-driven tools and digital technologies could be a turning point for farming. But the likelihood of this happening any time soon is less clear.
One significant barrier is the data generated by farm businesses not being shared or translated into actionable insights for the farmer; two significant causes of this barrier are lack of trust and the power imbalances between farmers and pre and post-farmgate supply chains; and it is a lack of transparent data governance principles that is driving both of these.
The data many farm businesses generate is beyond the reach of The Data Protection Act / GDPR. For example, soil samples, satellite images, genetic performance, management practices, yield maps, vet med use.
If there is no contract in place explicitly explaining how the data will be used, there are no clear protections or rights governing them. The question of who owns data, and what this means in practice once it has been processed in any way, is a thorny one.
Benefits of sharing farm data
The monetary value of raw data is also usually not clear so a price transaction may not be appropriate, but the insights once data has been processed can have significant value.
Without good governance in place, farmers are not only vulnerable and underinformed but could be giving away a huge amount of benefit from the data revolution.
The British Farm Data Council was formed to address this. Farm Data Principles Ltd, the newly incorporated not-for-profit organisation, will carry forward the work of what was the British Farm Data Council, to provide a certification system so companies collecting and using farm data can set out clearly and proudly to their farmer customers how they will manage their data professionally and responsibly.
“Without good governance in place, farmers are not only vulnerable and underinformed but could be giving away a huge amount of benefit from the data revolution.”
NFU Science and Regulatory Affairs Chief adviser Dr Helen Ferrier
This can be used as a key selling point in a crowded and confusing marketplace.
Making the announcement, Farm Data Principles Ltd chair Professor Tina Barsby OBE said: “Good farm data governance is essential if farmers in the UK are to have trust in companies and organisations who are bringing data tools to the market and handling on-farm data.
“Having consulted with much of the food supply chain we have formulated good farm data principles and are now ready to formally launch the certification process for those companies and organisations that can demonstrate their adherence to those principles.
“This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the volunteer council over the past 18 months. We now have a fully functioning scheme, a contracted day-to-day operator and, we can announce that we already have several organisations who have certified.”
Farmer, consultant and NFU member Sarah Bell has been working with the British Farm Data Council from the start. You can read her perspective on the critical need to fill the farm data governance gap on her blog.
The NFU recognises the huge potential of data-driven tools and technologies to help farmers improve their profitability and sustainability.
This marks the start of a framework that we have long been calling for – a way for companies to openly demonstrate they are using farmers’ data responsibly, acknowledging the need to build the trust of farmers and growers, address their concerns and clearly demonstrate the benefits of sharing farm data.