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Setting policy on “Big Data”

“Big Data” is one of the biggest buzz words in agriculture right now.  But do we know what to do with it?  American Farm Bureau Federation’s Matt Erickson says because those conversations have become more frequent, farmers began setting policy last fall.

“First and foremost, the farmer owns the data and they should have the choice of where their data goes,” he says.  “We also have issues with security and privacy.  This data should be made private and secured within the company to its fullest extent and you also have usage and value of the data.  There is a lot of value that comes with this data, both qualitative and quantitative.”

And because there are so many unknowns, Erickson tells Brownfield it is crucial that policy be set correctly the first time.  “To really get this right and for the technology and policy to come together, we first have to educate the farmer that is using the technology,” he says.  “Then we need to work with our industry stakeholders to see if there is any common ground with any concepts or definitions that are in place.”

AUDIO: Matt Erickson, AFBF (2:50mp3)