Farm data is not just a technical asset but also a source of bargaining power. A strong privacy policy protects farmers not only from privacy breaches but also from commercial exploitation, discrimination, lock-in and loss of negotiating power.
We often get asked to provide individual farm data or soil data outside of our usual arrangements.
Farm data is not just a technical asset but also a source of bargaining power. A strong privacy policy protects farmers not only from privacy breaches but also from commercial exploitation, discrimination, lock-in and loss of negotiating power.
Agricultural data (e.g. yields, cost, location, operating data, farm performance) has significant economic value and farmers are concerned about third parties using their data without their knowledge of consent. For instance, if a buyer knows that Farm A has exceptionally high costs and Farm B has very high yields, they may be able to use that information when negotiating with those farmers or supply chain intermediaries.
Funders do receive aggregated anonymous data in their MRV reports and we ensure that no data can be traced back to an individual farmer.
We can share data where there is a legitimate case under LENs and genuine benefit for farmers, and this is reviewed on a case by case basis. Legitimate cases are listed in our data policy under clause 4.
As a general rule, we cannot provide farm data to companies in exchange for free products or services either. That would be considered an onward selling of data.
LENs is fully certified by the Farm Data Principles scheme. Read our farmer data privacy policy.