Ag Data Transparency Evaluator

New technologies and products are constantly entering the marketplace and generating millions of bits of data about farmers’ fields, crops and equipment.

Over the past few years, ASA joined industry leaders and other farm groups to decide what to do with all this data and to establish a common position for farmers and companies on privacy.

 

ASA also had a hand in creating the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator, a tool designed to help farmers understand how their data will be used when they adopt precision agriculture technologies. The website was created by a non-profit corporation backed by a consortium of farm industry groups, commodity organizations and ag technology providers in order to bring transparency, simplicity and trust into the contracts that govern precision agricultural technologies.

Based upon the foundation laid by the Privacy and Security Principles for Farm Data (the Data Principles), the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator is a process by which ag technology providers voluntarily submit their ag data contracts to a simple, 10-question evaluation. Answers are reviewed by an independent third-party administrator, and the results are posted on the website for farmers and other ag professionals to consult and review. Only companies receiving approval are allowed to use the “Ag Data Transparent” seal.