The American Farm Bureau Federation along with 11 other groups have reached an agreement on data privacy and security principles designed to protect farmers.
South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott Vanderwal says the 12 organizations includes both ag groups and ag technology providers.
Vanderwal says one of the key components of the agreement calls for notice needing to be provided to farmers as to how farm data will be disclosed and used. He says producers need certainty that if someone has access to their data that it’s used properly.
He says technology can be a great tool but it needs to be handled in the right way to prevent any negative consequences.
Vanderwal says another key part of this agreement is that terms of liability need to be clearly defined and farm data should be protected with reasonable security safeguards against risks such as unauthorized access, destruction, modification or disclosure.