the real potential is what happens when the
data from thousands of tractors on thousands of farms is
collected, aggregated, and analyzed in real time.
Monsanto says its sensors on harvesting equipment generate about
seven gigabytes of data per acre.
Some farmers are worried about security and how companies
could use and profit off their farms’ data.
“A lot of the data we keep track of is sensitive to the
farm, and I’m a little concerned if someone else got a hold of
it,” Marshall says.
He opts to share his data with small, local groups
only.
who owns and licenses farmers’ data.
Monsanto says farmers benefit most when they allow the company to
analyze their data — along with that of other farmers — to help
them find the best solutions for each patch of land.
We’re not building a business based on housing their
data,” says Anthony Osborne, vice president of marketing at The
Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto.
own their data, and it allows them to download or
delete all the data that it collects.
While contracts with big-data firms are generally a license
agreement whereby the farmer retains ownership of the
information, most also give the companies free rein to conduct
studies and use the data to create highly profitable
products.