Why do companies need farm-level data?

Farm-level data is increasingly requested for corporate reporting. These requests stem from companies needing to better understand their supply shed and quantify their carbon emissions. This article will explore what is driving these requests, why farms are included, the types of data being requested, data security considerations, and more!

What is driving corporate data requests?

New carbon regulations coming out of Europe and California have had cascading impacts across the globe. Any company that does business directly or indirectly in these regions is required to calculate and report on the emissions footprint of their operations and the entirety of their supply chain, which includes emissions that occur at the farm level. In addition, large companies are setting ambitious carbon reduction targets through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI). These targets largely fall under 2030 and 2050 goals, with the 2050 goal being a “net zero” target, meaning that companies will need to balance carbon removed with carbon emitted. Both regulations and target setting at the corporate level have a direct impact on farm-level data requests.

Why are farms included in the data requests of a company?

Farms are included in these data requests because companies are working to meet regulatory requirements for supply shed level data, including at the production/farm level. These businesses use your reported fertilizer and yield rates to calculate the emissions that theoretically occurred in-field to produce the ingredients present in their products. If a company is looking to decrease their emissions footprint, it would be to their advantage to invest in grower incentive programs that make sustainable farming practices more accessible to producers.

What data do they actually need?

Unfortunately, since this scope of work is new, requests are often inconsistent from one customer to another. Common requests include the following:

• Seeding rates
• Fertilizer types and rates
• Yield
• Tillage frequency and depth
• Cover crop type, seeding rate, and termination methods (if applicable)

We may see a shift in the amount and type of data requested with the use of satellite imagery to detect grower practices. Utilization of this technology would theoretically reduce producer data entry.

Is my data secure?

It’s always a good practice to request evidence of data security when supplying farm-level data. At Grain Millers, we only ever provide data that growers willingly share, and only share it in an anonymized form. Additionally, we investigate the data service providers we use to ensure they have data security measures in place.

What is Grain Millers approach to data collection?

This year we are partnering with Regrow, a data collection and analysis platform, for farm-level data collection. Data collection is a requirement for our grower incentive program, Partnerships for Resilient Agriculture (PFRA), and we anticipate expanding this to other producers in the coming years. This data will be provided to customers in an aggregated and anonymized manner. Data will never be used to penalize producers and will only be used as an input for corporate emissions reporting.

What practices lower or increase emissions?

Field level emissions are impacted by internal factors and external factors that are completely out of a producer’s control. External impacts on emissions include weather patterns, yields, soil type, etc. Emission impacts that producers have more control over include the following:

• Fertilizer: Applying fertilizers at the appropriate level for optimal yield can help reduce excess nitrous oxide emissions. Banded applications, using either synthetic or organic nitrogen forms, are effective strategies for mitigating emission risk without the use of additional technology. Emissions may be lowered further by the effective use of soil test data or variable rate fertilizer applications to reduce overapplication and maximize plant uptake.
• Tillage: Utilizing reduced tillage practices can help reduce emissions and build carbon sinks in the soil. Any efforts to reduce tillage will impact emission profiles both from reduced fuel consumption and less carbon disturbance in the soil.
• Land use change: Perennial landscapes, forests, wetlands, slews, etc. all function as carbon sinks, or systems that store more carbon than they release. Reducing degradation or elimination of these landscapes helps to increase carbon storage. Afforestation and returning marginal areas back to natural habitats or landscapes can help to reverse carbon impacts.

How to be prepared for data requests:

1. Keep in-depth records of seeding rates, fertilizer rates, tillage depths, and frequency on fields where data is being captured.
2. Ask a Grain Millers field representative what data might be needed and any questions that you have.

At Grain Millers, our goal is to reduce the time burden of data requests, ensure data security, and help producers navigate surveys. With current trends in corporate reporting, we do not see these requests going away, but we do see the potential for technology to reduce producer burden. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out. We would be happy to help!