Protecting an Asset: Discussing Farm Data
Iowa Corn Promotion Board Provides New Resource
Managing assets and inputs is an essential activity done daily on farms. Yet one asset can be overlooked in the daily hustle and bustle of growing crops and running the farm. That asset is a farm’s data. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board points out that data generated on a farm is valuable intellectual property and farmers should decide if and how it can be used by others. This belief aligns with Ag Data Transparent’s (ADT’s) fundamental belief that farmers should own information originating from their farming operations.
Iowa Corn recently published a grower guide to help farmers navigate decisions around sharing their farms’ data and how it can be used.
“Iowa corn farmers are inundated with requests from companies and government agencies for their farm data and it is hard to keep track of all the nuances and differences among these agreements. We were pleased to partner with ADT to help farmers navigate the complexity of data sharing agreements,” said Greg Wandrey, Iowa Corn Director of Sustainability.
The guide first shares basic questions for the decision making process, including:
Why are you sharing data with a provider?
What can the provider do with the data?
What is the name of the provider, organization or institution and who outside the provider will have access to your data?
Do the providers’ data agreements address ownership of your farm data?
The guide then goes into other aspects of data collection and use for farmers to consider as they navigate technology contracts. ADT was pleased to work with Iowa Corn on their guide and points out that ADT- Certified companies answer these key questions and provide other information through the ADT certification process.
“It is great to see an organization like Iowa Corn build off the foundation created by ADT. While the ADT organization is focused on getting ag technology providers to answer questions about how they collect, use and share ag data, the Iowa Corn guide gives farmers questions they can ask ag technology providers directly,” says Todd Janzen, founding partner at Janzen Schroeder Ag Law and ADT administrator.
Being recognized as ADT Certified means a company must submit their contracts with farmers for certification to the ADT and answer 11 questions about how they collect, store, use, and share farmers' ag data. The contracts and answers to the 11 questions are then reviewed by a third party administrator for accuracy. If the answers match what the company's contracts say, the Ag Data Transparent seal is awarded. If there is a discrepancy, ADT provides feedback to help the company make changes so the seal can be awarded.
A technology provider’s answers can be accessed 24/7 on the ADT website, making this information conveniently available to farmers.
The Iowa Corn grower guide was mailed to all Iowa Corn members and Iowa farmers with 500+ corn acres, meaning almost 11,000 farmers now have this resource guide in hand to help them prepare for data discussions. The farm data grower guide as well as guides on Ag Carbon Markets and Microbials can be found here: Iowa Corn Grower Guides | Iowa Corn.
ADT thanks Iowa Corn for helping advance data discussions, encouraging transparency, simplicity and trust in the use of ag data.