Canadians understand property ownership when it comes to land, crops, and equipment. Yet, as agriculture increasingly relies on digital tools, new questions are emerging about who owns the valuable information generated on farms. Before governments and corporations build policies around agricultural data, farmers and rural landowners deserve clear answers about ownership, access, and consent.
This is an important issue as Statistics Canada completes the mandatory Census of Agriculture this month and the federal Liberals introduce Bill C-36, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act.
Modern farms generate enormous amounts of data every day. Information is collected through:
- GPS-guided tractors and combines
- Precision agriculture software
- Yield monitors
- Soil sampling and nutrient management plans
- Satellite imagery
- Drones
- Livestock monitoring systems
- Federal and provincial reporting requirements
- Carbon credit and environmental programs
Some farmers may assume they own and control all this information. In reality, the answer is often more complicated. This data can reveal crop yields, soil quality, fertilizer application rates, livestock performance, production practices, and land-use patterns. Technology companies use aggregated farm data to improve products, develop predictive models, and generate market intelligence.
The question for landowners is straightforward. If your farm data creates value, should you share in that value?
Many producers use equipment manufactured by a handful of multinational companies. Data generated by the equipment can be stored on the equipment, in cloud servers, or with third parties. Depending on license agreements, farmers may not own or even be able access the data they generate.
As carbon credit and environmental stewardship programs expand, participants may be required to provide soil test results, crop rotation information, satellite verification, and land management records. Landowners may be getting paid for environmental performance, but what happens to the information collected in the process?
While Statistics Canada does not release personal information from surveys and census, it does sell the aggregated data and offers custom products at an hourly rate of $91.37 per hour. Farmers are not compensated for the time it takes to complete the Agriculture Census.
In June, the Liberals introduce a new bill to replace the previous privacy laws governing commercial operations. The bill is completely silent on agricultural data.
It is clear that large corporations, and the government are profiting off the data you generate through your labour. This data has clear economic benefits, yet it is often taken without compensation. The rise of AI, and AI’s hunger for data, can only increase the value of your data. While governments have focused on protecting privacy the issue of protecting your property rights has been all but ignored.
It is time for that to change.