Farm Data Means Big Bucks for Big Data Firms

Big Data companies such as Deere & Co and Monsanto’s Climate Corporation, which have partnered with farmers, retain ultimate control over growers’ field data they collect that could be worth billions — and that doesn’t sit well with farmers, Reuters reports.

The companies’ tools help with precision planting, improved fuel efficiency, cost-efficient fertilization and other improvements while also collecting farm data, which data vendors can sell. This could mean big business for equipment makers Deere and CNH Industrial and seed companies Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. According to Reuters, Monsanto has said Climate Corp could become part of a $20 billion market, and DuPont Pioneer projects $500 million in annual sales over the next decade.

The American Farm Bureau has now weighed in, adopting a policy calling for transparency and farmer control. In response, Climate Corp rewrote parts of its privacy policy, Reuters says. While it retains the right to use farm data, it pledges not to use it to speculate on commodities prices.

Additionally, CNH Industrial’s user agreements now state that farmers own their agronomic data.

Photo Credit: farm field via Shutterstock