Farm Data Safe: committing to the highest standards of data governance

Building a resilient food system means all stakeholders working in partnership to drive the most beneficial outcomes for the industry. The foundation of any solid partnership is trust, and that’s why we’ve committed to the farm data governance scheme run by Farm Data Principles. Read on to learn more about the scheme, why its important and how you can get involved. 

What is Farm Data Principles? 

Farm Data Principles Ltd is a not-for-profit organisation incorporated in 2023 and created to continue the work of what was previously the British Farm Data Council.  

The organisation believes that there exists a great opportunity to improve trust in data across the British food & farming industry. Through improved trust we can truly unleash data sharing, collaboration, and value for the industry, especially our farmers; all the while ensuring a commonly recognised standard of care, security, and ownership. 

Since coming together initially as the British Farm Data Council, Farm Data Principles have worked with industry to develop a set of data sharing principles which have in turn led to the creation of a self-declaration certification scheme. Read more about the origins of Farm Data Principles here. 

What is the Farm Data Safe certification? 

The Farm Data Safe certification is a scheme that organisations can sign up to, demonstrating their commitment to key principles of data governance. The core principles include: 

• Your data is your data: this principle focuses on who owns and controls the data, ensuring that the Data Originator, normally the farmer, owns and controls their data. 

• Our organisation makes data easy: aimed at avoiding confusion and complexity this principle covers areas such as naming conventions, best practice and training. 

• Our organisaton keeps your data safe: this principle ensures that certified organisations are keeping to the highest security standards. For example, here at Foods Connected as well as Farm Data Safe we also maintain ISO 27001 certification.  

• Our organisation is clear about the value and benefit of data sharing: this is about the output and value generated by data sharing so that all parties understand how the data is being used. 

Those already certified include retailers such as Sainsbury’s, and organisations such as Red Tractor, LEAF and more.  

Why is data governance so important for the food industry? 

At every stage across food supply chains business reporting requirements continue to increase. This is a consequence of regulatory considerations, stakeholder interests, or through the need to evidence governance and policy commitments. The scope is ever expanding and data capture relating to animal health & welfare, environmental management and social impact underpins any robust approach to ESG and in turn ultimately requires visibility of primary farm-level data. 

The move towards a collective data-driven industry approach is undoubtedly facilitated by advances in data collection, management, and storage. In the food industry, this creates a number of opportunities for everyone involved in the supply chain. Businesses can ensure better food safety through streamlined operations, maintain compliance with regulations via automation, and gain insights into various areas ranging from sustainability metrics to business performance.   

Crucially, any data must be well-governed data, and this is essential for achieving the eventual benefits, supporting engagement and facilitating initial data sharing . For this to happen, food industry partners must work together on data governance, which means aligning on a common approach. 

At Foods Connected, we decided to seek certification because we want to demonstrate our commitment to being a trusted partner for farmers, food producers, and suppliers, and ensure that the data shared within our platform is handled securely, transparently, and ethically. 

Duncan Spencer-Brown, Operations and Customer Success Director at Foods Connected, said

“We are delighted to receive this certification as recognition of all of the hard work and investment that our business has put into the security and governance of our data. Our efforts to meet the Farm Data Safe standard, and our ongoing maintenance of the ISO 27001 certification are testament to this.” 

The Farm Data Safe certification signifies that farmers and supply chain partners can confidently engage with Food Connected, knowing their data is managed with care and respect. 

Professor Tina Barsby OBE, Farm Data Principles Chair stated

“I’m delighted to welcome Foods Connected as a Certified Organisation. Farmers rely on accurate, responsibly managed data to make informed decisions, and this certification underlines Foods Connected’s commitment to supporting them with integrity.” 

Becoming Farm Data Safe certified

If you're interested in becoming certified or learning more about Farm Data Principles, you can visit their website.

Understanding and optimsing your supply chain means ensuring you're collecting the right data at each point in the process. The first step is mapping your supply chain. Learn how to get started with Foods Connected: