![Data is becoming a valuable commodity. Picture via Shutterstock Data is becoming a valuable commodity. Picture via Shutterstock](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gCii2676WpkhR8KAvZ8bkq/b8dee592-6253-4986-8941-708f41bf827b.jpg/r0_0_2362_1585_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Agriculture is entering the digital era and a farmer's data could soon be a commodity as valued and sought after as a herd of fat cattle or a paddock of ripe wheat.
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Just like fences protect herds and pesticides defend crops, measures need to be put in place to safeguard data from threats.
The National Farmers' Federation has released a new certification scheme to help farmers choose tools and services that protect their farm data.
The new scheme builds on existing models in the United States and New Zealand and will certify products marketed to farmers to ensure they comply with the Australian farm data code.
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NFF vice-president David Jochinke said in the digital farming era, the volume and value of agricultural data was growing every day.
"There's a gold mine of industry data held with service providers, everything about our production systems, our soils, our yields and our finances is in a cloud somewhere," Mr Jochinke said.
"As a farmer, I want to know that whoever I give that data to is going to look after it. "That means keeping it secure, not sharing or selling it to third parties and giving me control to delete it or move it to another service.
"We know there are a lot of companies doing this well and we also know there are a lot of fledgling companies looking for guidance on what farmers think is fair."
The certification is now available to providers.
Mr Jochinke encouraged providers to get in touch with the NFF for an assessment and for farmers to look for the certification tick.
"What we've learned is that farmers want a simple answer: do providers meet the standard or not?
"To get certified under the code is a high threshold and providers must meet 100 per cent of requirements," he said.