The potential benefits of developing an ecosystem in which farmers can share farm-level environmental data have been highlighted in a new report published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
Environmental data is becoming increasingly important to businesses, supply chains and governments due to regulatory and voluntary reporting requirements, the AHDB said.
This, in turn, means that there will be a growing demand for farmers to supply data to many different organisations in order to demonstrate what is happening to the environment on their farm, according to the board.
The ‘Solutions for farm-level environmental data’ report published today (Friday, November 1), concluded that farmers could benefit from a data ecosystem that connects the flow of environmental data.
This data ecosystem, according to the AHDB, should:
- Provide farmers with a mechanism they can trust to control the flow of their data and capture value;
- Use existing data sets to pre-populate to make it easier and reduce cost;
- Have a two-way exchange of data with carbon calculator providers to avoid duplication;
- Enable aggregation of data and feed it into government and supply-chain reporting mechanisms when farmer permission has been given.
AHDB’s centre of excellence director, Ken Boyns 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 uncoordinated and fragmented, putting farmers at risk of duplication and contradiction, and even losing ownership [of carbon credits].
“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.”
Building such a system requires industry collaboration and government support, he said and added that the AHDB is working with the farming unions, other levy boards and the wider supply chain to explore solutions.
“Our first priority is to establish a joined-up approach to address data from carbon calculators to meet the needs of farmers and their customers,” the AHDB’s centre of excellence director said.
Environmental data
George Fell, a beef and sheep farmer from Yorkshire, said he supplies his beef and sheep to two different processors, each of which require a carbon footprint but use different calculators.
“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.”
In order for levy boards and farming unions to explore solutions, a set of principles have been defined which should apply to any approach identified, the AHDB said.
These include the requirement that farmers own and control their data; that data will not be passed to any party without farmer agreement; and that the system should support the ability for farmers to capture value.
Boyns said this process includes engaging with stakeholders across the agri-food supply chain from farmers, processors, millers, feed companies, to retailers and governments.
“It is vital that a solution is not imposed on farmers or the rest of the supply chain without consultation, and we would welcome contact from any organisation with an interest in this area,” he added.
