A coalition of major farm organizations, commodity groups and agriculture technology providers (ATPs) debuted a tool designed to help farmers understand how their data will be used when they adopt precision agriculture technologies.

New technologies and products are constantly entering the marketplace and generating millions of bits of data about farmers’ fields, crops and equipment. A recent survey found that an overwhelming number of farmers do not know what happens to their data when they use these new technologies.

The Ag Data Transparency Evaluator was created to help producers understand where their data is going and who has access and control over it. The Evaluator requires participating ATPs to answer 10 key questions about their technology product’s use and control of farmer data. A third party administrator then reviews the answers and determines whether the products meet the standards of transparency set by the Privacy and Security Principles for Farm Data (Data Principles). Products that meet standards will receive the “Ag Data Transparent” seal to be displayed on promotional materials and product pages. Additionally, farmers can go to the Transparency Evaluator website to see and compare all the products and services that have undergone the evaluation.

The creation of the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator stems back to November of 2014 when a coalition of ag groups and ATPs announced a Data Principles document, an agreement that identified key areas of concern for producers.

Some of the 10 questions addressed by the Evaluator include: What categories of data does the product or service collect from the farmer?; Will the ATP obtain the farmer’s consent before providing other companies with access to the data?; and Will the ATP notify the farmer if a breach of data security occurs that causes disclosure of the farmer’s data to an outside party?

The American Soybean Association  (ASA) was part of the coalition involved in the development of the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator that combines both farmer-led industry organizations and ATPs, including: AGCO, AgConnections, Agrible, American Farm Bureau Federation, Beck’s Hybrids, Conservis, CNH Industrial, Crop IMS, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer, Farm Dog, Farmobile, Granular, Grower Information Services Cooperative, GROWMARK, Independent Data Management, John Deere, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers, and The Climate Corporation.

The Ag Data Transparency Evaluator is non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors from the participating organizations.  The corporate bylaws require that all actions be approved by the farmer-led organizations, making the Evaluator truly a farmer-driven initiative not controlled by the ATPs whose products are reviewed.

To learn more about the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator and to see the full list of 10 questions visit www.fb.org/agdatatransparent. For more information contact the Ag Data Transparency Evaluator Administrator Todd Janzen at janzen@aglaw.us; or the Board Chairperson Mary Kay Thatcher, mkt@fb.org.