News Update

Over a series of regular meetings over the last 10 months, the British Farm Data Council has been formulating a set of high-level Principles of farm data governance which, if implemented, would improve transparency and standards across the agriculture industry, and engender trust amongst farmers and growers. With such trust and belief in data governance, farmers and growers would be more likely to start working with data tools, improving their access to improvements in farm practices, and enhancing their sustainability and environmental footprint. Companies and organisations working with farm data would be clearer about what “good” looks like when it comes to data governance.

For the last three months BFDC has been discussing these principles with a number of organisations, including the National Farmers Union, the AIC, Red Tractor, BASIS, AHDB, the UK Flour Millers, RASE, the National Pig, Beef and Sheep Associations, NAAC, Food and Drink Federation, CropLife UK, the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants, the AICC, the AEA and AgriTechE.

All have been open to the concept of the Principles, and the results of these discussions have informed and added to the concepts. Several of these organisations identified the need to explain some of the terms used in the Principles, including what farm data is, who “owns” farm data, and what the value of data might be. BFDC will now start to publish discussion blogs on these subjects and would welcome your views.