FAA Issues $1.9 Million Fine to Drone Operator

On October 6, 2015 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an enforcement letter to SkyPan International, Inc. assessing a $1.9 million dollar civil penalty for flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) without permission. The FAA has fined drone operators for unlawful flights in the past, but this is by far the largest civil penalty to date. This should be a reminder to unauthorized drone pilots that flying commercial UAVs is still illegal and carries great risk in the United States.

Farm Data in Custom Farming Contracts

As custom harvesters make their way across the United States and Canada this summer, I keep wondering what happens to all that yield data these machines are collecting.  I am sure much of the data is forwarded to the landowners and farmers so that they can make decisions for next year.  I hope so.  But do custom harvesters address this in their agreements?  Here are some suggestions for how they should.

Is Your "E-Signature" Valid?

The prevalence of "I accept” check boxes on online contracts may have some people wondering whether one click of the mouse is as effective as signing your John Hancock?  The answer, for the most part, is yes.  “E-signatures” can be just as binding as real signatures. But like all legal matters, the validity of e-signatures is not always black and white.

My Top Ten Farm Data Articles

I've been writing about the legal issues surrounding farm data for a few years now.  Quite simply, farm data is the most exciting subject I've encountered in more than a dozen years practicing law. A farmer's ability to collect, share, and analyze data has tremendous potential to improve farming in next decade. As a farm kid turned-lawyer, I see my role in agriculture's big data revolution to push farmers to think about legal issues they may not have considered, and to push ag technology providers to rethink traditional legal frameworks that apply to data in other industries. Farming is different. That's why I keep writing.

Big Data and Technology in Ag Seminar August 14, 2015

Please join me for the Big Data and Technology in Agriculture seminar on August 14, 2015 at Indiana Farm Bureau. The day promises to have a number of engaging speakers who will cover different aspects of farm data technology, privacy and security. I'll be speaking about the legal aspects of managing farm data as well as efforts to ensure transparency with ag technology providers. More information can be found by clicking "Continue Reading" below or going to www.InAgLaw.org/bigdata.

Is Your Farm Data a Trade Secret?

Every agricultural technology provider likes to say that “the farmer owns the data,” but is that really true?  This statement hinges on the answer to a central question: is farm data a form of intellectual property that the law protects?  Farm data doesn’t neatly fit into the legal box designed to hold patents, copyrights, or trademarks.  That leaves the law of trade secrets.  If farm data is a protected form of intellectual property, it must be a form of trade secret.

What Makes Agronomic Farm Data Different from Other Forms of Intellectual Property?

I often hear other attorneys say that agronomic farm data is just like other forms of intellectual property, and that the issues farmers are confronting have already been dealt with in other areas of law.  But the truth is that agronomic farm data is unlike any other form of property. Agronomic data is unique. As a result, how much protection the law will ultimately afford farmers for their agronomic data is an open question. This post explains why agronomic data is different than other forms of intellectual property.

Farm Machinery, Copyright, and the Right to Tinker

It may not be enumerated in the Bill of Rights, but the Right to Tinker with farm machinery is well embedded in America’s rural culture.  I grew up a first-hand witness to farm tinkering.  I still remember when my dad and Uncle Herman thought it would be a good idea to “marry” a header from a John Deere chopper onto a Farmhand silage cutter.  Farmhand made a good harvester, but a lousy header.  With some farm-engineering and a lot of welding, a new Farmhand/Deere silage cutter was created. The machine wasn't perfect, but it cut a lot of silage. It was the epitome of tinkering.

John Deere Does Not Own Your Tractor.

WIRED magazine’s recent headline: “We can’t let John Deere destroy the very idea of ownership,” really got my attention.  The article’s premise is based upon John Deere’s recent comment to the US Copyright Office that farmers who buy a new John Deere tractor are granted an implied license to operate a tractor for the duration of its life.  Or as WIRED puts it:  “It’s John Deere’s tractor, folks. You’re just driving it.”  I decided to dig a little deeper.

Co-op and Custom Applicators: Are You Addressing Farm Data in Your Contracts?

Farmers will call up their local co-ops this year to help them fertilize and spray their fields.  These sprayers-for-hire will be recording what they do, but what happens to that data after that point?  Does the co-op have an obligation to provide that data to the farmer?  Does the co-op own the data generated on a farmer’s field? These questions need to be answered when farmers engage third parties to perform precision ag activities on their fields.

Don't Forget the Little Guy: FAA's Proposed Rules for "Micro" UAVs

Many articles have been written about the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) proposed rules for "small" unmanned aircraft systems ("small UAS" or "small UAVs"). But most authors have overlooked that the FAA is also considering special, less stringent rules for "micro" UAVs.  Micro UAVs weigh less than 4.4 lbs (small drones are less than 55 lbs.) and travel less than 35 mph (small drones are restricted to 100 mph).  This article takes a closer look at the FAA's proposal for micro-UAVs and its promise for agriculture.

Ten Key Points to the FAA's Proposed Small UAV Rule

The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has released proposed rules that would govern the integration of “small” unmanned aircraft systems (“small UAS”) into the National Airspace System. The proposed rules specifically state that they would allow crop monitoring and inspection, aerial photography, and research and development—meaning commercial agricultural uses fall squarely within the new rule. Here is my summary of the proposed rule, followed by some suggestions to current and future drone operators.

Defining "Big Data" in Agriculture

A recent comment on one of my articles addressing big data concerns in farm leases asked why I used the term "big data" instead of just "data." This got me thinking about the definition of "big data" and what the term really means with respect to agriculture.

Big Data in Farm Leases: When Landlord and Tenant Both Want the Data

In my last two posts, I discussed what provisions one might add to a farm lease when either the landlord or the tenant wants ownership of farm data generated during the lease. Another scenario arises when the landlord and tenant both want equal access to the farm data. In this situation, the lease should establish co-ownership rights. As a side note, I should mention that data analytic tools on the market at this time, like FARMserver, make this sharing of data between landlords and tenants extremely easy.

Big Data in Farm Leases: When the Landlord Wants Control

In my previous post, I discussed some ideas for drafting a lease to make sure that the tenant owns the farm data created during the lease. Another scenario arises when the landlord wants control of the farm data generated by the tenant. This might be the case where the landlord makes land management decisions, such as what to plant, how much fertilizer to apply, when to spray pesticides, etc. In this type of situation, different provisions need to be included in the lease than suggested in my previous post. 

Does Your Lease Address Big Data?

I've drafted and reviewed dozens of farmland leases over the years, but I've yet to see a lease that addresses the issues associated with ownership and transfer of farm data. As farmers embrace new data storage and analytic tools, it’s time to modernize the traditional farm lease to address farm data. This post begins a series of articles on how to address farm data ownership, privacy, and sharing, in a farm lease.

FAA Approves Ag Drone Flights for One Company: Is Decision a Road Map for Others?

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted a Washington company (Advanced Aviation Solutions LLC) an exemption to fly unmanned aerial vehicles ("UAVs" or "drones") commercially for "precision agriculture" and "crop scouting" purposes.  In general, FAA regulations prohibit any person from flying a UAV in national airspace without an airworthiness certification (except for model aircraft flow under the "hobby" aircraft guidance document).  A person may seek to avoid airworthiness certification by seeking an exemption under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (“FMRA”).  To date, these exemptions have been issued sparingly.  This latest exemption, however, may provide other ag drone operators with a road map for obtaining their own exemption from current FAA regulations.  

The Year in Reverse: A Look Back at 2014

Each year I take a look back at the big legal stories in agriculture. This year, the usual wrangling over environmental and livestock issues took a back seat to drones and “big data.” These precision ag stories were everywhere.  But there was also a big fight over future environmental regulations, and that made my list too.  So here it is, my complete list of the top 5 legal ag issues from 2014.

Big Data and Drones at the IN/IL Farm Show

I'm presenting this year again at the Indiana/Illinois Farm Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Each year, Hoosier Ag Today hosts a series of seminars on different topics for attendees.  I'll be on stage on December 16, 2014 at 11:00 am. My presentation is called: "Data Privacy on the Farm: What You Need to Know." I'll talk about recent data privacy developments and drone news.  I'll be joined by Jim Shertzer and Jim Love from Beck's Hybrids, which recently launched its own data analytic tool: FARMserver.  More information can be found here:  IN/IL Farm Show Seminars.  I hope to see you there!

If you missed my presentation, you can find it here:  Data Privacy on the Farm: What You Need to Know.

Questions to Ask About Your Data Privacy Policy

AgGateway recently introduced its latest whitepaper on data privacy best practices for the agricultural industry. For those unfamiliar with AgGateway, it is a non-profit consortium of businesses serving the agriculture industry, with the mission “to promote, enable and expand eBusiness in agriculture.” AgGateway’s 200 members come from the crop protection, seed, grain, ag retail and other industries. AgGateway’s latest whitepaper provides not so much the “best practices” for ag technology providers, but a list of questions ag technology providers should ask when drafting their policies. These same questions are ones farmers should ask before clicking “I accept” the terms: