Individual Farm Data's Worth

Individual Farm Data's Worth

Reporting from Alltech’s One conference in Lexington, KY. There has been much discussions about what may or may be done with the ag data gleaned from GPS and other technologies. David Hunt, CEO and co-founder of Cainthus, says individual farmers should not be holding their personal data close to the vest.
Hunt: “One of the big things or misconceptions that farmers have about data — that they don’t necessarily want to hear but it is important to say — is that first of all farmers are increasingly of the opinion that their data is worth something. And unfortunately the truth of that is that it is not. The data from an individual farm is worth nothing. The aggregated data from thousand of farms or million of farms is incredibly valuable, but farmers need to understand their personal data is actually not particularly valuable. The other thing —again I hate to say but it is important to say —- is this whole issue of data security. So farmers are quite apprehensive about people getting access to their data. I’m one of these Millennials — as we are called — and basically my view of that is if someone has access to all of your farm data, so what. What can they actually do with it.”
Hunt continues
Hunt: “Look at the big picture don’t think about my data, my farm. You think about you share your data with all the farms; how much better does that then make your farm — that is the property way to think about it."
Previous ReportRegional Weekly Hay Report
Next ReportSummer Chip Committee Meeting