Ag data has become increasingly important to not only farmers, but corporate companies like McDonalds and PepsiCo as well. In recent years, the USDA and other government agencies have taken significant strides in leveraging agricultural data to drive climate-smart initiatives across the U.S., according to Todd Janzen, agricultural attorney at Janzen Schroeder Ag Law.

For years, farmers have asked, “Who owns my ag data after I share it with an ag tech company?” This has not been an easy question to answer as a lawyer.

Farmers are given many reasons to collect ag data about their farming practices, but using that data in court is rarely one of them. However, at a recent trial about crop damage, we proved just how useful ag data can be to help a court understand complex multi-year, multi-field farming operations.