Winter
2016
grainswest.com
27
BY MELANIE EPP • ILLUSTRATIONS BY DREW SHANNON
Making themost of precision ag
S TECHNOLOGY FOR COLLECTINGON-FARM
data continues to grow, so too does the number
of questions it raises. Where does the data go? Is
it securely stored? Who owns it? And probably the most
important question: Is all of this data collection really necessary?
QUESTIONS ABOUT OWNERSHIP AND SECURITY
What is “big data” for agriculture? For some, it’s merely a
catchphrase; for others, it’s a way of life. Technically speaking,
it’s the business of collecting and analyzing data that is
generated by farm equipment, such as planters, sprayers
and combines. Typically, data has been stored on cards to
be downloaded later or transferred to an ag tech provider.
Now, as technology rapidly changes, data transfers are
typically done wirelessly, collected on the go from the field
and sent through the ether into the cloud. For instance, with
John Deere, on-board data is wirelessly beamed to the John
Deere Operations Center and can be later accessed from your
smartphone, tablet or computer by yourself or a trusted third
party with permission.
COLLECTINGON-FARMDATA ISN’T NEW, BUT TURNING IT
INTO SOMETHING USEFUL IS
“Data can now be manipulated, interpreted and used,”
explained Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional
relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation. “It offers
opportunities for farmers to apply fewer inputs, use less water,
be more efficient, produce higher yields and ultimately make
higher profits.
“But the technology also brings risks,” she added.
To mitigate those risks, producers need to know who controls
and has access to their data. They also need to know whether
the aggregated data can be shared or sold, and whether it can
be used by ag tech providers to speculate in the commodities
market.
“If you ask an ag tech provider, the answer is almost always
[that] the farmer owns the data,” Thatcher said. “If only it were
that simple.”
Thatcher is right—there is no easy answer. For instance, in a
recent interview, Mike Martinez, marketing director for Trimble’s
Agriculture Division, said it is the farmer who owns the data.
A
Later, though, he amended that statement, saying that some
data simply cannot be extracted once it’s been integrated.
Trimble offers a product called Connected Farm, a data
management platform that collects, organizes and stores
on-farm data. One of the big questions new clients ask Martinez
is whether or not they can get their data back if they want it.
“In all cases, all of the data that the grower feeds into
Connected Farm, they are able to extract,” he said.
But not all files can be returned to the producer. For instance,
some pieces of value-added data cannot be removed, as they
have already been incorporated into larger collections.
“We want people to know that sometimes when you ask for
a product, you’ve asked for a service to be created with your
data, and sometimes in order for us to do that, that data gets
spread into other places,” Martinez said. “Some things are fully
embedded and spread across the entire ecosystem. It’s just
spread out and it can’t be surgically extracted like that.”
Thatcher offered other scenarios where data ownership may
be unclear. For instance, who owns the data on leased land—
the landowner or the tenant? What if you crop share? What if
you hire someone to do your spray applications—does he or
she own the collected data or do you? If the landowner owns
the data, could it lead to higher rental rates for the tenant?
The list goes on and on.
“Farmers need to talk to those with whom they do business
and make sure that their contract or lease is explicit about who
owns the data,” Thatcher advised. “This has to be done before
you can truly address how long the owner of the data actually
controls the data, and what type of ag tech provider is right
for you.”
Another consideration when choosing an ag tech provider
is security. Martinez explained that Trimble uses a modern
and secure storage system. All data, he said, is stored in the
cloud, and can only be accessed by subscribing customers.
Those customers, however, can invite others into their
accounts, including their agronomists, crop advisors or seed
salespersons. To protect that data, Martinez advises farmers to
come up with an agreement before allowing access.
While privacy and data usage aren’t regulated in Canada,
one organization—the Western Equipment Dealers
Association (WEDA)—has put together documents to help
