Syngenta yesterday announced its acquisition of FarmShots, a North Carolina-based data company that assesses plant health and other farm conditions. The acquisition marks the latest move by seed and ag-chemical companies to grow their presence in the farm data sector.
Data tools like FarmShots use cloud-based computing to provide reports on planting times, soil quality, water usage, and other metrics. Syngenta bought Ag Connections, a data company that integrates into John Deere tractors, in 2015. Other seed and ag-chemical companies, including Monsanto and DuPont, have also bought data companies in recent years.
Syngenta is a member of a coalition that in 2014 wrote the Privacy and Security Principles for Farm Data. The coalition, which includes other input companies, commodity groups, and farmer advocacy groups, pledged transparency in how farmer data is used, ownership by farmers of their own data, and notice of when data is being collected. However, a 2016 survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation showed that farmers remain unsure of how their data is being used.