Policy & Advocacy
Data in Agriculture
Issue Overview
Data is becoming one of the most valuable resources on Canadian farms. From precision agriculture and livestock management systems to market information, satellite imagery, weather monitoring, and environmental reporting, data is helping producers make more informed decisions than ever before.
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) believes that agricultural data will play a critical role in enhancing productivity, profitability, sustainability, and resilience across Canada’s agriculture sector. However, realizing the full value of data requires farmer trust, strong governance frameworks, improved connectivity, interoperable systems, and clear rules around data ownership and use. CFA supports policies that ensure agricultural data works for farmers while helping Canada meet its economic, food security, and environmental objectives.
The CFA sits on the Strategic Steering Committee for the Canadian Standards Association’s work on Agriculture and Agri-food. Standards play an important role in improving data portability and accelerating the adoption of new technologies and data-driven approaches through improved consistency and transparency.
The CFA is also proud to be an industry member of the Ag Data Transparent (ADT) organization, which supports transparency in collection of agricultural data.
Quick Facts
- Canadian farms generate billions of data points through machinery, sensors, weather stations, financial systems, livestock technologies, drones, and satellite imagery.
- Precision agriculture technologies have been shown to increase crop production while reducing input use through more targeted management practices.
- Reliable agricultural data supports better business decisions, improved risk management, enhanced sustainability reporting, and stronger market competitiveness.
- Nearly 40% of Canadian farm operators are expected to retire over the next decade, increasing the importance of technology and data-driven innovation to support productivity growth.
- Rural broadband connectivity remains a significant challenge, with many producers lacking reliable high-speed internet access beyond the farmstead and throughout their operations.
- Surveys consistently show that farmers are willing to share data when clear privacy protections, transparency, and trust are in place.
CFA Policy Manual
For more information about this issue and all other key issues in Canadian agriculture, please refer to our current Policy Manual
