DjustConnect data highway accelerates Flemish data economy, a frontrunner in Europe
On the Flemish data-sharing platform DjustConnect, there are already 30 entry and exit ramps in use today, through which data transports take place on a daily basis, approved and controlled by the farmer as data owner. With this, DjustConnect has accelerated the pace and is helping to make safe and efficient data sharing possible in the Flemish agri-food chain.
During the Agridagen in Ravels, coordinator Stephanie Van Weyenberg (ILVO) explicitly addressed companies and organisations that (need) data: "The applications are flooding in. Now is the time to build your on-ramp to our data highway."
Among the pioneer users, you will find big names such as Milcobel, Boerenbond, AVR, Arvesta, KBC and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as names from less obvious backgrounds such as viticulture. The list of special supporters also includes Microsoft, which will support DjustConnect in the coming years as a Microsoft start-up.
Mature platform ready for expansion
Whereas at its launch two years ago, DjustConnect was the initiator in an emerging ecosystem, today it is a natural and solid platform that shows the way to reliable data sharing in the growing European data economy. DjustConnect is seen as an example on both the (IT) technical and legal level. The number of data sources and digital applications running on it is now also accelerating. A selection from the range on offer:
- IKM-NET, the tool which helps dairy farmers to prepare for their IKM audit. This is how it all started 2 years ago! Among other things, measurement and advisory reports, inspection certificates, water analyses and certification of the company veterinarian are automatically loaded into the app. Later this year the tool will be expanded with the digital sustainability monitor from MilkBE.
- Focus of Boerenbond. The first large accounting package that feeds on data via DjustConnect. Among other things, the milk and feed invoices are automatically uploaded to the right place with a view to relieving Flemish farmers and horticulturists of a large administrative burden and guaranteeing transparent use of their data.
- Milcobel milk money statements. After Focus, a second, third and even fourth customer followed very quickly. Milcobel's ramp to DjustConnect is there. Milcobel now sends the data of their dairy farmers' cooperatives to these customers without extra development work and costs (with permission).
- Link2Farm from Arvesta. This new app will be launched at the Agridagen in Ravels and supports the dairy farmer with feed management. It is a tool for customised farm advice that is even more personalised and automated through Milcobel's dairy data, among other things.
- Climate scan of Klimrek. Today, in order to calculate the climate impact of farms, the Climate Consultants have to collect and transcribe information on the spot. This makes it very time-consuming. To enable upscaling of the Climate Scans, the partners now opt for a digital Climate Scan with as much automatic data input as possible from milk invoices, feed invoices, silage analyses, plot information, milking machine and cooling tank information and energy saving measures.
- Parcel information from the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries. This data from the collection applications makes it possible for more than 23,000 Flemish agricultural and horticultural companies to share their parcel information directly with their advisory and management tools, without retyping. By building this ramp, the Department is consciously drawing the digital map and supporting both farmers and chain partners.
- WatchITgrow of VITO. One of the management packages that gets to work today with the plot information of the Department is WatchITgrow. Supplemented by, among others, information from AVR's digging and planting machines, they convert data into usable task cards that are, in turn, shared via DjustConnect.
- KBC-Wide Weather Insurance. Thanks to a cooperation with WatchITgrow/VITO and DjustConnect, the declaration of damage in the KBC-Breed Weather Insurance is made smoother, more efficient and more transparent.
- Craft your Taste fromTastefever. With this traceability app, the wine lover can follow the production process behind his favourite wine. Thanks to DjustConnect, the wine grower now has his parcels nicely visualised in the app, without any additional administrative work.
Great improvement in ease of use for all parties
Based on the feedback from the first users, in the past two years a lot of work has been done to create a farmer-friendly dashboard, a clear ConnectShop where interested parties can request available data, an inspiring website, an extensive range of workshops on all aspects of data sharing and clear standard contracts 100% in accordance with the European code of conduct for data sharing. In the recently approved collaboration project 'Digislim Boeren', ILVO and partners will continue this course to give farmers even more control of their data.
Reliable in Flanders, pioneering in Europe
Als state-of-the-art, operationeel platform DjustConnect neemt volledig in lijn met de Europese visie, een voortrekkersrol op in de uitbouw van een Europese data-economie en de Europese data space voor landbouw. DjustConnect doet dit vanuit echte gebruikerservaringen uit de dagelijkse “datadeel” praktijk.
DjustConnect in a nutshell
The large quantity of agricultural data produced throughout the agro-food chain makes smarter advisory tools and administrative simplification possible. DjustConnect was created to make it IT-technically and legally easier for companies to work with that data, but also and especially to give farmers and horticulturalists back control over their data. All transactions on the data highway are traceable, secure from start to finish and approved by farmers and horticulturalists.
Also build a ramp?
Press contact
Nele Jacobs, ILVO communication
0472530696
nele.jacobs@ilvo.vlaanderen.be
Eva Maes, ILVO/DjustConnect
eva.maes@ilvo.vlaanderen.be