Open ag tech
Building a collaborative vision for the future of agricultural technologyThe Path towards open agricultural technology
From farm management software to ecommerce platforms, farmers and food producers increasingly use digital tools to help run their businesses. At OFN Canada, we’re working to ensure this technology puts the needs and the rights of its users first.
Most agricultural technology is owned by large, private companies that control not only the software but also the data that it gathers. However, a growing movement has begun to push back on this proprietary, top down approach. OFN Canada is part of multiple collaborative initiatives that are charting a different path forward, aiming to build an ecosystem of open agricultural technology where users have control of their own data.
What is ‘open technology’?
Open Source
Open source software is software whose source code is freely available for anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute. It is developed collaboratively by a community of contributors, fostering transparency, innovation, and shared progress.
Open Standards
Open standards are publicly available rules, protocols, and formats that define digital practices. They enable innovation, interoperability, and seamless integration by ensuring that different technologies can work together without restrictions.
Data Sovereignty
Data sovereignty ensures that technology users retain control over their data, determining how it is shared and used, without being subject to external corporate or governmental interests.
Why open ag tech matters
Agricultural technology like farm management software, ecommerce platforms, and supply chain tools can help farms become more productive, profitable, and sustainable. However, traditional proprietary systems are often expensive to license and come with restrictive limitations. Open agricultural technology provides an alternative that not only gives individual farms greater access and control but also strengthens collaboration and resilience across the farming sector.
The power of open agricultural technology is its ability to facilitate collaboration, customization, and equitable access.
Collaboration: Open source software fosters collaboration between farmers, researchers, and developers, leading to continuous innovation. A shared development model allows for rapid improvements and tailored solutions to emerging challenges.
Customization: Open source tools can be adapted to meet the specific needs of farms and local conditions, giving farmers greater flexibility and control over their technology.
Access: Unlike proprietary systems with high licensing costs, open source solutions are generally more affordable and accessible to farms of all sizes, leveling the playing field for smaller producers.
Open Data vs. Data Sovereignty in Agriculture
The debate around farm data is not just about access—it’s about control. Currently, much of the data generated by farms is collected, controlled, and monetized by proprietary platforms, often without clear mechanisms for farmers to assert their rights. Open data models aim to improve transparency and accessibility, but without strong protections, they risk exposing farmers to exploitation.
In contrast, data sovereignty ensures that farmers retain control over their own data, deciding how it is used and shared. Rather than being merely accessible, data sovereignty ensures that agricultural data is governed by the farmers who generate it, with clear consent mechanisms and protections. By shifting toward data sovereignty, farmers can leverage their collective data for research and collaboration while safeguarding their interests.
Embedding data sovereignty within the broader food sovereignty movement is essential to ensuring that farmers, workers, and food systems can operate independently and equitably.
A true data sovereignty approach requires consent-based governance that fosters trust, is easy to understand, and prioritizes the rights of farmers. Open source agricultural initiatives, like those championed by OFN, have demonstrated their commitment to this principle by signing OpenTEAM’s Ag Data Use Agreements. These documents provide a framework for responsible data sharing—ensuring that farmers, researchers, and agricultural organizations collaborate on data use in a way that is transparent, equitable, and farmer led.
Projects and Partnerships
At OFN Canada, we’ve joined forces with a number of diverse, collaborative efforts working to imagine and implement a future for open agricultural technology.
OpenTEAM
This collaborative network—bringing together farmers, scientists, engineers, technologists, and food companies—works to enhance soil health and strengthen agriculture’s role in addressing climate change. By creating markets for climate-smart commodities, the network rewards and incentivizes progressive land management practices. Through our partnership with OpenTEAM, we support open source, interoperable technologies that facilitate knowledge sharing and ensure that farmers retain control over their data.
Gathering for Agricultural Technology (GOAT)
GOAT is a global network of developers, farmers, and stakeholders dedicated to advancing open source technologies in agriculture. By promoting transparency in supply chains, improving market access, and enabling farmers to securely share sustainability practices with buyers, GOAT helps drive more equitable and efficient agricultural systems. As active members of this network, we collaborate to coordinate development, foster innovation, and ensure that technology is designed to meet the real needs of farmers and food producers.
OFN Canada’s Director, David Thomas, at a Gathering for Agricultural Technology (GOAT) event
D:Food/Web Initiative
In 2024, OFN joined a diverse coalition of stakeholders in the D:Food/Web initiative, a project advancing data and food sovereignty through decentralized, community-driven technologies. Since a catalytic DWeb Camp in August 2024, we have been helping to spearhead efforts to establish cooperative data governance, enhance transparency, and develop sustainable funding models that support open, resilient food systems.
Data Food Consortium (DFC) Open Standard
The Data Food Consortium initiative is dedicated to establishing an open standard for data exchange in food systems, with a strong emphasis on short supply chains. By enabling seamless interoperability between farmers, marketplaces, and consumers, this standard fosters greater transparency, efficiency, and resilience in local food networks. Adoption of the DFC standard empowers small-scale producers by ensuring data sovereignty while enhancing their access to decentralized markets. Open Food Network plays a pivotal role in developing and promoting this standard, strengthening direct relationships between producers and buyers, reducing reliance on intermediaries, and laying the foundation for a more connected, equitable, and sustainable agricultural future.
Interoperability in the Digital Farmgate Sector
This research partnership with University of Guelph aimed to better understand the technological challenges and possible solutions for local food businesses and enterprises. To do this, OFN led a series of surveys, focus groups and roundtable discussions with farmers, hub managers and market coordinators, as well as potential industry partners. These discussions highlighted the importance of interoperability and well-documented open data standards, and confirmed the promise of the DFC open standard in bringing about this vision.
A New Approach to Food Commerce in the Québec Region
This project will leverage open source technology to strengthen a network of local food hubs and producers across Quebec, from Montreal to Quebec City. Rather than a centralized marketplace, we’re building a shared web portal that syncs data across the tools farmers and food hubs already use. Businesses will stay in control of their information while benefiting from better insights, business intelligence, and seamless data syncing between platforms. Working with CoopCircuits, Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité (CQCM), and other partners, this initiative will enhance the competitiveness of local markets against larger retailers, enabling them to coordinate distribution of a wider selection of products collectively while maintaining operational autonomy.