AHDB calls for creation of farm data custodian

Plans to establish a central industry body to store farm environmental data have been put forward by the AHDB.

The volume of data being captured on farm is at an all-time high, with environmental and supply chain schemes increasing this burden further.

An influx of data collection requirements has started the conversation within the industry around who should own farm data, who should be able to access it, and who should pay for it. It has also raised questions around data security and control.

See also: How industry is baselining emissions on farm

A report by the AHDB found that farm businesses would benefit from a system that allowed farms to retain ownership, avoid duplication and reduce costs.

The levy body highlighted four components for a successful data custodian:

• A mechanism allowing farmers to control data flows
• Use of existing datasets to reduce overall costs
• A two-way exchange of data with carbon calculators
• Aggregated data for supply chain and government, following farmer approval.

Ken Boyns, the AHDB’s Centre of Excellence director, said: “We are working to find a solution that will make life easier for farmers through the connecting of data.

“Environmental data requests are currently un-coordinated and fragmented, putting farmers at risk of duplication and contradiction, and even losing ownership.

“A solution that farmers can trust must enable them to retain control of their data, easily share it with the supply chain when they choose to, and generate value from their own carbon credits or have access to premium markets.”

The AHDB’s first priority is to focus on data collected by carbon calculators, and this will initially be focused on England only, although there are further plans to work with devolved nations as well.

However, it has been made clear that a solution would only be imposed following a wider consultation with the agricultural industry.

AHDB chief executive Graham Wilkinson added: “To ensure an efficient, coherent and consolidated solution to environmental data that works for farmers, AHDB, along with key industry organisations, is working to find an industry-led solution – one that will help farmers take ownership of their data and derive benefits from its value.”

Varying solutions are being considered, ranging from smaller single-objective data groups to a major industrywide database storing and aggregating data for the whole supply chain.

NFU stance

Andrew Loftus, chairman of the NFU North Livestock board, said capturing and consolidating farm-level environmental data at a national level was essential, in order to demonstrate the beef and lamb sector’s progress towards net zero and other environmental goals.

He added: “It will also provide an essential defence of the vital home market against imports which already claim to have such data, and will be important when promoting British products into some new markets. The time for action on this is now.”

George Fell, a beef and sheep farmer from Yorkshire, supplies beef and sheep to two different processors, each of which require a carbon footprint calculation but using different calculators.

He said: “A lot of the information is the same, but I have to submit it separately, doubling the time I spend on it. This needs joining up so I can put the data in one place once and provide what my customers require based on one version of the truth.”