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.