Several challenges prevent farmers from collecting and sharing data on their production practices. However, there is ample opportunity to empower farmer’s digital transition, according to new research from Farm Journal’s Trust In Food initiative and the Sustainability Consortium.
Farm-level production data plays a critical role in conservation and sustainability efforts. Previous research shows only eight percent of food and beverage companies who could report data said they have visibility into on-farm practices.
More than half of all respondents, 64 percent, said they do not rely on-farm management information systems exclusively. Almost a third of respondents, 28 percent, said their primary data storage method is paper or another non-digitized method.
Of those that do not use digital, only half have considered transitioning to digital. Additionally, 73 percent of respondents do not trust private companies with their data, and 58 percent do not trust the government with it. Conversely, 71 percent do trust their financial institutions with data.