'Data has to go back to the farmer'

The feeling of reliance on third parties to interpret company data is growing among farmers. 'It doesn't feel good for farmers. Data must be returned to the farmer', says Anne Bruinsma, co-founder of Farmhack.nl.

Farmers have a growing need to be able to analyze and interpret the data of their farm themselves. That is what Bruinsma says. She will speak on Thursday at the AgriFood & Tech event in Almere, organized by NRC and supported by Boerenbusiness† Bruinsma is co-founder of Farmhack.nl, a company engaged in opening up data for farmers.

indicate yourself
She told the approximately 150 attendees that the way the data revolution is progressing in agriculture no longer feels right for many farmers. 'They miss the opportunity to interpret the data of their own company. Farmers are often dependent on third parties and resistance to that is growing.'

2 examples
Bruinsma mentions 2 examples. “John Deere is no longer a hardware company that sells tractors. It's a data company. If a farmer buys or leases a John Deere tractor equipped with all kinds of technology, the data is no longer his. That's a big flaw.'

Nothing more to say about own company
As another example, Bruinsma mentions the way in which the Monsanto concern handles the data of their farmers. Monsanto now collects so much data from the farmers to which they supply seeds, crop protection products and other services. Farmers fear that they no longer have a say in their own farm. 'Monsanto and the shareholders will soon know more about the farms they supply than the farmer himself. That instills fear in farmers and Monsanto suffers from it in America', says Bruinsma.

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