The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has commissioned a proof-of-concept project as part of its ongoing work to find a solution to farm data sharing. The project aims to demonstrate a technical solution which puts farmers and levy payers in control of their data and how it is shared.

Focusing on environmental data to begin with, the proof of concept aims to show how farmers can share data from existing sources such as British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), processor data and feed data with a commercial carbon calculator for the purpose of conducting a greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment.

Adam Short, AHDB Data Programmes Associate Director, said: "More data than ever is being collected, recorded and shared by farmers – be it for themselves, the supply chain, regulatory or wider purposes. Increased demand for data raises questions about ownership and control, data security and the value and benefits of sharing such information.

"AHDB has been engaging extensively with industry on the topic of data sharing and data governance over the last 12 months. We have also engaged with organisations around the world who have already successfully implemented farmer-led solutions for data sharing. Farmer trust for any potential system is paramount and is at the forefront of our minds as we move forward with the proof of concept."

Initial stages of the project will gather permissions for the various data access and sharing requirements and clearly outline their uses and limits. For example, farmer and processor permissions will be needed to gain processor data, and farmer and Rural Payments Agency (RPA) permission will be needed to gain BCMS data. Work will then begin on a system that will connect these data sources, and the data uses eg carbon calculators. At the heart of the system will be a permission centre which will be co-designed and tested by 15 farmers taking part in the project. The aim is this system will demonstrate real farmer control of data sharing.

Sarah Bell, Farmer and member of Farm Data Principles, said: "The pressure on farmers to add value by supplying production information due to legislation is inevitably going to increase. I am delighted that AHDB is working towards building a solution that helps farmers to supply this data once, in a time efficient way and use the data for multiple purposes. The work of Farm Data Principles is seeking to encourage all end users of farm data to be honest and transparent about how they use that data. Both our work and that of AHDB aims to put trust and accuracy at the heart of data processing and wherever possible save farmers time and effort."

As well as working with a small group of farmers on the proof of concept, AHDB plans to engage more widely with farmers and industry stakeholders to ensure levy payer voices are heard and any concerns or suggestions are considered. If you would like to contribute, email environmentaldata@ahdb.org.uk

For more information on the importance of the data challenge and AHDB's work so far in this area, visit: ahdb.org.uk/the-environmental-data-challenge